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Incumbent Kupang mayor candidate concedes defeat
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The two candidate pairs in the Kupang mayoral election, Jefri Riwu Kore-Hermanus Man (left) and Jonas Salean-Nikolaus Fransiskus, take part in an election debate in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on Feb. 2. (Antara/Kornelis Kaha)
J
onas Salean, the mayor of East Nusa Tenggara’s provincial capital of Kupang who had run for reelection, conceded defeat after a preliminary vote count showed that rival candidate Jefirstson “Jefri” Riwu Kore and his running mate Hermanus Man won by a margin of about 3 percent.
“We tried, but God has decided that [Jefri-Hermanus] will lead Kupang for the next five years,” the mayor said on Thursday.
“We lost the race with dignity. I’d like to congratulate Jefri and Hermanus, while asking the people of Kupang to continue scrutinizing the fulfilment of their campaign promises,” added Jonas, who heads the Golkar Party in Kupang.
The Jonas-Nikolaus Fransiskus ticket was also backed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the NasDem Party, the Hanura Party, the National Awakening Party and the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI).
(Read also: Acehnese show enthusiasm in 21 elections across province)
Jefri said he appreciated the gesture by the mayor.
“This victory is the victory of all Kupang people,” Jefri, the head of the Democratic Party’s Kupang chapter, told The Jakarta Post.
The Jefri-Hermanus campaign was backed by the Gerindra Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
Kupang held simultaneous regional elections on Wednesday, along with 100 other regions across Indonesia (bbs).
