Ruling ends Golkar's chances in Depok election row
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Ministry of Home Affairs said on Monday it would respect the Supreme Court's ruling in the high-profile Depok mayoral election dispute, a statement that will likely prevent the giant Golkar Party from further legal maneuvering to keep its men in control of the West Java administration.
"The ministry will respect the law," the secretary-general of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Progo Nurdjaman, said on Monday.
The statement means that West Java Governor Danny Setiawan, a Golkar member, will have to install Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) candidates Nur Mahmudi Nur Ismail and Yuyun Wirasaputra as mayor and deputy mayor of Depok once the provincial administration receives a copy of the Supreme Court verdict from the Depok General Elections Commission (KPUD Depok). The installment would see an end to Golkar's six months of political maneuvering to negate the results of the first democratic local election in Depok.
The Supreme Court last week upheld the initial decision of the KPUD Depok, which named the PKS pair as the winners in the June 26 mayoral election. The KPUD decision was contested by Golkar's Badrul Kamal, the incumbent mayor, who in August won his case at the West Java High Court. The KPUD Depok then filed a case review with the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Bagir Manan said on Monday that Golkar could no longer contest the Supreme Court's decision.
"A case review according to the law can only be done once," Bagir said.
Golkar is unhappy with its loss in the Depok election and factions in the local legislative council supporting Badrul including Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP), and the National Mandate Party (PAN) have vowed to oppose Nur Mahmudi. Their statement promises a tough political battle ahead for the new mayor who needs council support for his plan to root out corruption and improve public services in the city, recently declared the most polluted municipality in the country.
"We reject the Supreme Court's ruling because it is against the law," Babai Suhaimi, a spokesman for the coalition of the three parties said as quoted by detik.com. He said according to Law No 32/2004, the ruling of West Java High Court, which was assigned to settle local election disputes, was binding and final.
Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'aruf said his office would evaluate the implementation of local elections in the regions in a bid to avoid more disputes in the future.
He said that the evaluation would also involve a review of existing regulations, including Law No. 32/2004 on regional administrations, which regulates local elections.