Ruling ends Golkar's chances in Depok election row

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.