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Leave requirement should be maintained: President’s aide
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Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama enters a courtroom at the Constitutional Court on Aug. 22. The governor is challenging the Regional Elections Law, asking the court to make campaign leave optional, not mandatory. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
D
johermansyah Djohan, an expert representing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in a court hearing on Thursday insisted that the campaign leave requirement for incumbent candidates should be maintained during the simultaneous regional elections.
Speaking at a court hearing at the Constitutional Court, Djohermansyah said the campaign leave was given to the incumbent to help ensure the election was more democratic and to prevent the abuse of power by incumbents.
“Therefore, in my opinion, the campaign leave requirement for incumbents should be maintained,” he added.
Previously, Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama filed a judicial review of the leave requirement for incumbent candidates as stipulated in the Regional Elections Law because he believed that taking leave was a right and not an obligation. He also said that if he took leave of about four months, he would not been able to prepare the city’s budget.
Djohermansyah said the Home Ministry would appoint an acting governor, who had no political interest, to implement the job of incumbents.
Ahok questioned the neutrality of Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, who is a politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) in appointing an acting governor. “How could you guarantee that it is free from political influence when the home minister comes from a political party? Please explain,” Ahok said as reported by kompas.com.
Djohermansyah stressed there was a procedure to appoint only reputable officials as acting regional heads, including acting Jakarta governor. (bbn)
