T

he Makassar General Elections Commission (KPU) has disqualified incumbent mayor and deputy mayor Mohammad Ramdhan Pomanto and Indira Mulyasari Paramastuti from running in the June mayoral election in response to a Supreme Court ruling.

The decision was made in a closed-door plenary meeting on Friday, after the Supreme Court ruled in an election dispute that the KPU must disqualify the pair because Ramdhan had abused his power to gain an advantage in the upcoming race.

“We have consulted with the central KPU and Bawaslu [Elections Supervisory Agency] and the conclusion is that we have to carry out the Supreme Court’s ruling even though it contradicts Bawaslu’s decision,” Makassar KPU head Syarief Amir said on Sunday.

With Ramdhan’s disqualification, the Munafri Arifuddin-Andi Rachmatika Dewi ticket will be the sole candidate pair contesting the election.

Ramdhan, however, was still optimistic that he would eventually be allowed to run, saying that his side was still pursuing three different legal avenues, including a case review petition.