Lukas Enembe and Klemen Tinal, who were nominated by the Democrat Party and its coalition, won the 2013-2015 Papua governor and vice governor’s race for the period. They defeated five other candidate pairs.

The Papua General Elections Commission (KPUD) announced Lukas-Klemen, commonly abbreviated to “Lukmen”, as the elected Papua governor and vice governor in a plenary meeting that took place at Gedung Olahraga Cenderawasih Jayapura, Papua, at 9.00 p.m. local time, on Wednesday.

Lukas-Klemen won 1.19 million votes, 52 percent of total 2.71 million votes, followed by the candidate pair Habel Melkias Suwae-Yop Kogoya which obtained 415,382 votes or 18 percent of the total votes.

Lukas-Klemen won 14 out of 29 regencies and municipalities in Papua. The candidate got the most votes in the Papua Mountain Race area.

Carolus Bolly, the secretary of the Lukas-Klemen campaign team, said Lukas Enembe had started working hard to win the gubernatorial election shortly after he was defeated by Barnabas Suebu in the 2005 provincial election.

Yunus Wonda, a local leader from the Papua Mountain Race area who led the Lukman-Klemen campaign team, said the victory could not be separated from a strong sense of brotherhood among tribes in the mountainous areas.

“When Pak Lukas nominated himself in the Papua governor’s race, Papuans from the Papua Mountain Race area put their hopes on him as he was considered a leader committed to breakthroughs to resolve problems faced by the local people,” he said.

Meanwhile in Medan, North Sumatra, five candidate pairs contesting for the upcoming North Sumatra gubernatorial election announced their assets on Thursday.

All candidates signed an integrity pact to show their commitment to transparency before announcing their assets. The candidates were required to disclose their wealth to the public before competing in the March 7 poll.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) deputy chief Adnan Pandu Praja said that all assets had been verified by the KPK.

Governor candidate Effendi MS Simbolon is the richest candidate, possessing a total of Rp 57.7 billion (US$5,9 million) and $91,970, while running mate Jumiran Abdi has the lowest assets with Rp 615.9 million.

Chairuman Harahap is the second richest aspirant with a total of Rp 36.5 billion in assets, while his running mate Fadly Nurzal has assets worth Rp 6.3 billion.

Another hopeful, Gus Irawan Pasaribu, came in third with a total wealth of Rp 34.9 billion and $6,189, while the wealth of his running mate Soekirman has Rp 3.8 billion.

Deli Serdang Regent Amri Tambunan was in fourth place with Rp 6.7 million in assets, while his running mate RE Nainggolan had Rp 3.1 billion and $2,715. Incumbent Gatot Pujo Nugroho is in the last place as he possesses a total of Rp 3.8 billion in assets, while his future deputy T. Erry Nuradi, who is also Serdang Bedagai regency, has Rp 9.2 billion and $15,638.

Adnan called on public to monitor the candidates’ assets once they were appointed as governor and deputy governor.

Corruption among regional leaders’ administrations remains a concern. Former North Sumatra governor Syamsul Arifin was detained by the commission in 2010 in connection to his alleged embezzlement of Rp 99 billion in funds, allocated for Langkat regency, to pay for his own personal expenses.

Syamsul was convicted by the Jakarta Corruption Court on graft charges and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in August 2011.

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