T

he Constitutional Court has finally upheld the Riau General Elections Commission'€™s (KPUD) decision to establish the Annas Maamun-Arsyadjuliandi Rachman ticket as the winner of the Riau gubernatorial election, to serve as Riau governor and governor for the 2013-2018 period.

In a hearing presided over by Constitutional Court Chief Justice Hamdan Zoelva on Monday, the panel of judges ruled against all charges submitted by the Herman Abdullah-Agus Widayat ticket due to lack of evidence regarding alleged massive structural and systematic violations during the second round of the Riau gubernatorial election.

Riau KPUD head Tengku Edy Sabli expressed his satisfaction with the ruling. '€œThe implementation of the 2013 Riau gubernatorial election was an achievement at the end of the Riau KPUD'€™s commissioners'€™ term because they were able to elect a governor through a process that took place peacefully,'€ said Sabli.

'€œBased on the steps taken by Riau KPUD, the swearing-in ceremony is slated for Feb. 20, but everything depends on when the President signs the inauguration decree and when the home minister is ready to attend the ceremony. This will later serve as a reference for the Riau legislature to arrange the plenary session for the inauguration,'€ he added.

The inauguration committee has undertaken numerous preparatory steps, including inviting Annas to inspect the swearing-in venue at the Riau Youth Sports Hall.

'€œHe will see the preparations, such as seating, power, lighting and security, firsthand. Administrative preparations to acquire the presidential decree have also begun,'€ said Riau provincial secretary and inauguration organizing committee head Zaini Ismail.

He expressed hope that the issuance of the presidential decree would not be delayed, so that the inauguration could be carried out immediately. According to him, the schedule for the inauguration had been adjusted with the planned Riau provincial administration'€™s organizational working structure (SOTK), for which a bylaw was recently approved by the Riau legislature.

'€œNew positions included in the new SOTK could not be filled yet. Adjustments to the SOTK must wait for the new governor, to prevent repeated rearrangements,'€ said Zaini.

Regarding the new SOTK, Annas said he would only make use of officials who work earnestly, are keen on making field visits and are organized in theiradministrative work.

'€œOne task at the top of my priority list is raising the discipline of civil servants. I don'€™t like officials or civil servants who like to go on trips without clear goals and interests,'€ said Annas, chairman of the Golkar Party'€™s Regional Executive Board for Riau, and still serving as Rokan Hilir regent.

He also promised to implement all his campaign pledges, such as improving infrastructure development by setting aside Rp 800 million (US$66,000) for each village in the province, providing scholarships, setting up more community health clinics with in-patient treatment facilities and building adequate homes for underprivileged residents.

Separately, lawyer for the Herman-Agus ticket, Muharnis, said that, like it or not, he had to accept the Court'€™s ruling, which was final and binding.

'€œThere will be no more legal efforts,'€ he said, and acknowledged that the arguments and evidence submitted to the Court had not been strong enough.