West Java names two gubernatorial candidates
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung, West Java
The West Java provincial legislative council will likely nominate two gubernatorial candidates proposed by major factions after the minority factions' candidate was rejected on Monday.
The gubernatorial election committee at a plenary meeting in Bandung, the capital of West Java province, decided to accept the nominations of Tayo Tarmadi and Danny Setiawan to contest the upcoming gubernatorial election.
Tayo, a retired Army major general and a legislator representing the Indonesian Military in the House of Representatives, was nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) factions. These two factions also nominated West Java PDI Perjuangan chapter chairman Rudy Harsya Tanaya as their candidate for deputy governor.
Meanwhile Golkar, which entered into a coalition with the United Development Party (PPP), nominated Danny Setiawan, the secretary of the Golkar chapter in the province, as its gubernatorial candidate and Nu'man Abdul Hakim as its candidate for deputy governor.
The military/police faction nominated no candidates so as to ostensibly maintain their neutrality while the candidates for governor and deputy governor proposed by the combined faction (Abdi) were rejected because the official letter proposing their candidacies was not signed by the faction chairman and secretary.
Eka Santosa, chairman of the gubernatorial election committee, said the provincial legislative council would now confirm the two gubernatorial nominations as definitive candidates after approval from Jakarta.
"According to our schedule, the two candidates are scheduled to detail their vision, mission and programs before the councillors on April 23," he explained.
The names of all the candidates would be submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs for approval.
Meanwhile, hundreds of supporters of the combined faction staged a demonstration at the provincial legislature to protest the gubernatorial election committee's rejection of their candidates.
The demonstrators dispersed peacefully after dozens of security personnel arrived at the scene.
Last week, the Sundanese People's Forum (Formmas) built a stage in front of the council building, promising to protest over the election process.
According to them, the gubernatorial election should be stopped or delayed, as only rich candidates could participate in it. That, they said, would almost certainly lead to bribery among the council members.
The gubernatorial race is West Java's first under the regional autonomy law, which was implemented in 2001.
Under the law, regions could elect their own governors, regents and mayors as part of granting them greater authority to manage their own affairs.
Previously, the central government always appointed a governor with a military background for West Java, considering the province as a backbone to security in Jakarta.
Many councillors now said they would like to see a civilian governor take the post.