Gubernatorial election to cost Rp 56 billion: Official

The Jakarta Post , Denpasar | Mon, 02/11/2008 12:02 PM | Bali

The upcoming gubernatorial election will end up costing around Rp 56 billion, an election official says.

"Most of the money will be used to pay the honorariums of the ballot officials," the head of Bali's General Elections Commission (KPUD), AA Gde Wisnumurti, said Saturday as quoted by Antara.

Ballot officials include those carrying out voter registration and verification, and the officials supervising the casting and counting of ballots at each polling station, as well as at the district-level counting station.

"Of that Rp 56 billion, 60 percent will go to the election officials and ballot officials at the provincial, regency and village levels. The remaining 40 percent will be used to purchase the necessary materials and to finance logistical-related activities," Wisnumurti said.

He said the Rp 56 billion would be appropriated from the 2008 provincial budget.

"Upon the completion of the election, we will submit an accountability report detailing the disbursement and utilization of the money. We want it (the report) to be an example of how a state institution can perform its work in a transparent and accountable manner.

"And if the public finds out that the money has been misused, then we as the members of the elections commission are ready to be held responsible for that," he said.

The election is scheduled to take place July 9.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is so far the only party to name its candidates. The party, the largest in Bali, nominated former Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Made Mangku Pastika and Denpasar Mayor AA Puspayoga for governor and deputy governor, respectively.

Made Mangku Pastika gained national and international recognition for his role as the chief investigator of the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Under his leadership, investigators arrested most of the perpetrators and planners of the attacks, and dealt a blow to the structure of terrorist organization Jamaah Islamiyah.

"I will run on the platform of transforming the island into a strong economic force based on prosperity for all residents," Mangku Pastika told The Jakarta Post.

The second largest political party in Bali, Golkar, has yet to name its candidates. The party is likely to make a formal announcement sometime this week, a party source said.

"There will be a special meeting on this matter on Monday. Hopefully, by the middle of this week, we will be able to announce our candidates to the public," he said.

The candidates for the Golkar nomination include retired Army general SN Suwisma and the former chairman of Bali's hotel and restaurant association, Gde Wirata.

However, Cokorda Budi Suryawan, former regent of Gianyar and chairman of Golkar's provincial executive committee in Bali, is seen with an edge in the race for the nomination.

"I believe now it is a matter of selecting the best deputy governor candidate to be paired with Cokorda Budi Suryawan. It would be very difficult to beat Cokorda Budi Suryawan because a large majority of Golkar's members believe he is the perfect candidate for Golkar," the source said.

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