Demonstrators besiege KPUD office in Kupang

Yemris Fointuna ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Kupang   |  Fri, 05/16/2008 12:49 PM  |  The Archipelago

More than 1,000 demonstrators from rival groups in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara province, rallied at the provincial General Elections Commission's (KPUD) office here on Thursday.

The demonstration centered around the gubernatorial and vice-gubernatorial election to be held on June 2. Five candidates have registered for the election and the KPUD has cleared three of them to run.

Some of the demonstrators called on the KPUD to reverify all five candidates, while other demonstrators called for the election to go ahead as planned.

KPUD officials refused to meet with the demonstrators. Three platoons of riot police were sent to break up the rally.

After the demonstration, the KPUD held a meeting to number the three candidates who passed the verification, insisting the campaigning and balloting would take place as scheduled.

"The election will go ahead as planned, and after consulting with the General Elections Commission (KPU) in Jakarta, we have decided not to repeat the verification process because we feel it was conducted in accordance to the law," KPUD member Hans Ch Louk told The Jakarta Post.

The candidate pair of Frans Leburaya/Esthon Foennay, nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan), will be No. 1 on the ballot.

Number 2 will be Gaspar Parang Ehok/Yulius Bobo, nominated by a coalition of minor parties.

The Golkar Party-nominated Ibrahim Agustinus Medah/Paulus Moa will round out the ballot at No. 3.

All three candidates met the legal, political and administrative requirements to run. Each expressed optimism of winning the vote and have prepared their own strategies to convince the voters of their political programs.

"Everyone wants to win and we will prove we are the strongest candidates to win the election and govern the province," said Foennay.

Governor Piet Tallo, who will end his second term in office in June, is not eligible to run in the election. This will be the first-ever direct election of a governor in the province.

Linking a passage from the Bible to his position on the ballot, Ibrahim said he was hopeful of outright victory in the election because "the last would become the first and vice versa".

Lawyers for Benny Harman Kabur/Alfred Kase, who failed the verification, filed a lawsuit against the KPUD at the State Administrative Court. Anton Ali, chairman of the pair's campaign team, said they would accept the court's verdict on the case.

Hans called on authorities to tighten security in the province in the lead-up to campaigning because of the likelihood of clashes and security disturbances that could disrupt the province's political stability.

East Nusa Tenggara is the country's southernmost province and borders Timor Leste and Australia.

KPUD member Yohannis Depa said despite the much-criticized verification process, the KPUD would stick to its agenda. He also said the KPU had no plans to take over the running of the election.

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