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View all search resultsLack of funds, independent candidates mark elections
Regional elections in 17 regencies and municipalities in Central Java this year will be fraught with financial problems of organizers, which will likely lead to failures and new problems, a legislator says
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R
egional elections in 17 regencies and municipalities in Central Java this year will be fraught with financial problems of organizers, which will likely lead to failures and new problems, a legislator says.
“This is actually a serious problem that not many people are aware of. From data and reports, the 17 regency and municipal administrations are not ready to finance elections this year,” Central Java legislature Commission A member Bambang Haryanto Baharudin told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
If this issue is not resolved immediately it could have bad implications and spark new conflicts among parties, Bambang said.
Each of the 17 regencies and municipalities organizing the elections this year needed an average of Rp 12 billion (about US$1.2 million), he added.
The financial constraint was attributed to a lack of anticipation from regency administrations and legislatures, Bambang said.
“They fail to give themselves long enough to get ready. The funds could have been prepared a year earlier and not abruptly in the budget adjustment. The Rp 10 billion is considered a huge amount for regencies with budgets of less than
Rp 1 trillion, especially when the election funds are prepared abruptly,” Bambang said.
Meanwhile, independent candidates would likely dominate direct elections in nine regencies and mayoralties in North Sumatra that are scheduled be held simultaneously in May this year.
The nine regencies and cities slated to hold elections concurrently are Medan, Binjai, Serdang Bedagai, Labuhan Batu, North Labuhan Batu, South Labuhan Batu, Sibolga, South Tapanuli and Pakpak Bharat.
Medan KPUD reported that 25 independent candidates had taken registration forms, but so far none had returned them.
Medan KPUD member Rahmat Kartolo Simanjuntak said Wednesday his office expected the Medan election to be dominated by independent candidates.
“We expect that around seven independent candidates and around four party members will contend the Medan municipal election,” Rahmat told the Post.
He said the deadline for independent candidates to obtain forms for the Medan municipal elections was 5 p.m. on Jan. 1, while registration for candidates from political parties would begin Feb. 13 and end Feb. 19.
