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cting governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama is allowed to choose his deputy governor, experts say.

University of Indonesia (UI) administration expert Refly Harun said the new government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) No. 1/2014 introduced by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stipulated that regional leaders, in case of a gap in leadership, could propose deputy governor candidates to the president.

'€œAccording to the Perppu, the new deputy governor can be selected by the governor, who will then propose the name to the President via the home minister,'€ Refly told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

'€œAhok can use the Perppu to select his own deputy. He has to hurry because if the House of Representatives disapproves the new Perppu [during a plenary session] in January, the mechanism then should be done in accordance with Law No. 32/2004 [on regional administrations, meaning that Ahok should seek approval from the City Council],'€ he said.

Debates concerning the candidates for deputy governor and the mechanism for selection have surfaced as leaders from the Jakarta branches of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Gerindra Party '€” the parties that endorsed Jokowi and Ahok in the 2012 gubernatorial election '€” have insisted on the use of regulations that favor their respective interests.

Gerindra maintains that it should propose candidates for the deputy governorship, while the PDI-P insists the vacancy should be filled by a PDI-P candidate.

Councilor M. Sanusi of Gerindra, however, interpreted the regulation differently.

'€œArticle 174 of Perppu No. 1/2014 stipulates that when a governor resigns or is dismissed more than 18 months before the tenure ends, Ahok will remain deputy governor and the council selects the governor,'€ he said.

Article 174 of the Perppu says that such mechanism is applied if a governor '€œends tenure or is dismissed from the position based on a court decision'€.

Meanwhile, if the selection process was conducted using Law No. 32/2004, Sanusi said political parties that endorsed the pairing during the election would propose the candidates and Ahok could pick one of the available candidates.

'€œAhok could disapprove the candidates and he'€™ll lead the capital without a deputy. However, that way he will create a gap between the governor'€™s office and the council,'€ he said.

Ahok insisted that he preferred to select his deputy governor. Previously, he said he preferred to choose deputy governor for spatial planning and environment Sarwo Handayani.

'€œShe has adequate experience and her performance over the past two years has been good. She was also good at every post she was appointed to. I'€™ve checked with businessmen and they said she had never asked for kickbacks or anything like that,'€ he said.