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Ahok, Djarot rush to finish duties before campaign leave
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Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat pose for a photo on Sept. 20 after the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle's announced its declaration of support for the two in the upcoming Jakarta gubernatorial election. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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akarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama and Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat are in a rush to finish the revised city budget before taking leave for the election campaign period from Oct. 28 to Feb. 11, 2017.
"We prioritize finishing the revision of the city's budget [APBD-P], which has to be evaluated by the Home Ministry before taking leave," Djarot said on Monday in Jakarta, adding that there were several other duties that must be finished before taking leave.
Ahok and Djarot were even absent from the election’s flagship event on Monday, when the Jakarta General Election Commission (KPU) officially announced the gubernatorial candidates as, according to Ahok, they were busy with their duties.
"I don't think I can come [to the announcement]. Since yesterday, I have two suitcases of documents to sign that I haven’t finished," Ahok said at the time.
According to the law, Ahok must handover his duties to an acting governor—which will be appointed by the Home Ministry on Wednesday—during the campaign period. After expressing publicly that he wished to continue working during the campaign, Ahok ultimately will follow the electoral regulation.
He hopes that the acting chairman will continue his programs like the river normalization project and accommodating relocated residents to low-cost apartments. Ahok also expects the acting governor to act transparently in running the Jakarta administration. (ags)
