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Home Minister to appoint acting governor for Jakarta, again
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Acting Jakarta governor Sumarsono (right) accompanies Home Affairs Ministry Tjahjo Kumolo (left) to a working meeting at the House of Representatives Commission II overseeing regional affairs, in Jakarta on Dec. 6. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
H
ome Minister Tjahjo Kumolo is set to announce an acting governor to replace incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama when he takes leave for his reelection campaign.
"Today we will appoint the acting governor [...] I haven't signed the decree so I can't mention the name just yet," Tjahjo said on Monday.
The Jakarta General Elections Commission (KPUD Jakarta) has ordered the incumbent pair of Ahok and Deputy Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat to take leave again to campaign for the second round of the Jakarta election.
After securing a win in the first round of the race on Feb. 15, the incumbent is set to face the final battle for votes against former education minister Anies Baswedan and his running mate, businessman Sandiaga Uno, on April 19.
During the first round of the campaign, Sumarsono, a senior bureaucrat with the Home Ministry, was appointed as acting governor to fill in for Ahok.
"There is a possibility [that Sumarsono will be acting governor again]," Tjahjo said when questioned by journalists.
The handover will be conducted at City Hall in Gambir, Central Jakarta, on Monday evening. (wit)
