Govt to raise the bar for regional head candidates

Home Minister Gamawan Fauzi said Friday that the government planned to exclude individuals with no experience in governance from running for regional elections in a move that will likely bar entertainers aspiring to become regents.

The regulation is said to have been incorporated in the draft revision of the 2004 Regional Administration Law that will be submitted to the House of Representatives for deliberation in the middle of the year.

The minister told reporters at the State Place that the government would also enforce a regulation in the existing law banning “morally flawed” regent hopefuls.

“A candidate must not have moral flaws. A person who commits adultery cannot be a regent. If they are caught [committing adultery] on video, they should be disqualified by the poll commission,” Gamawan was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.

The government’s plans come on the heels of a surprise announcement by singer-actress Julia Perez that she planned to run in Pacitan, East Java, the hometown of President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono.

The policy could also spell the end of the road for dangdut singer Maria Eva, who recently announced her bid to run as deputy Sidoarjo regent. Maria shot to fame when a video of her engaging in an affair with Golkar politician Yahya Zaini circulated on the Internet in 2006.