Since Ismeth Abdullah was suspended as governor for alleged involvement in a fire truck markup case, his wife, Aida Ismeth, has been stepping up to run in the upcoming gubernatorial election in Riau Islands.
Aida and her running mate, provincial secretary Eddy Wijaya, were nominated by the Golkar Party and the United Development Party (PPP). The parties control a combined 25 percent of the provincial legislature’s 45 seats.
They will run against Nyat Kadir Muhammad Sani.
Nyat Kadir, Batam mayor from 1999 to 2004, and running mate Zulbahri were nominated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). The parties control a combined 26.67 percent of the legislature.
Sani and Soeryo Respationo were nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), New Indonesia Party (PPIB) and the Ulema National Awakening Party (PKNU), who have a combined nine seats.
Nyat Kadir is upbeat that his political platform represents the interests of the administration, business community and general public in the province.
Nyat Kadir campaigner Surya Makmur Nasution said the Democratic Party and PKS had built a coalition with smaller parties and had allocated funds of Rp 30 billion (US$3.3 million) to win the election.
This will be the second direct gubernatorial race since the Riau Islands area was declared a province in 2003.
The election is attracting public attention due to the province’s strategic position. The Batam and Bintan industrial zones accommodate thousands of domestic and foreign investment projects and draw millions of workers from other islands. The province’s Natuna Island also has abundant deposits of oil and gas.
The fate of the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) developed in Batam, Bintan and Karimun in the past few years lies in the hands of the elected leaders. Investors have welcomed the three candidates’ political platforms that include the FTZ scheme and their promise to make business there more competitive.
More than 1.2 million eligible voters are expected to cast their votes on May 26 at 3,200 polling stations. The provincial polling body has allocated Rp 60 billion to organize the gubernatorial election that is expected to go two rounds.
In Medan, 10 candidates — five of them independent — will contest the mayoral race. The election is expected to be more colorful with the candidates coming from different ethnic groups. Medan is home to three million, with Chinese, Batak, Javanese, Minang, Indian, Arabian and Acehnese ethnic groups well-represented.
Sofyan Tan, a candidate running on the PDI-P and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) ticket, claims to have political support from more than 396,000 Chinese residents, mostly businesspeople. If he wins the poll, he will be the first Chinese mayor in Medan. He is running on a platform of making the city safer for people of all ethnic backgrounds to live in and do business.
“I don’t have enough money to run in the election, but my job as a teacher over three decades is the social capital I need to win,” he said.
The chairwoman of the municipal polling body, Sofyan Eva Diana Ginting, said she requested all candidates submit a detailed report on their campaign funds and sponsors to avoid vote buying before the election kicks off on May 12. She said the polling body and the Election Supervisory Committee were committed to fairly monitoring elections to avoid conflict.
“We are optimistic the elections will go ahead peacefully and democratically as indicated by the peaceful ongoing campaigning,” Eva said.
