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Election supervisory agency rejects Ahok's complaint about obligation to take leave
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On alert -- Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) Jakarta chairwoman Mimah Susanti (second from right) explains alleged irregularities ahead of the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election during a press conference on Jan. 6. (Antara/Rosa Panggabean)
T
he Jakarta Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu Jakarta) rejected on Wednesday incumbent Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama’s complaint about a decree issued by the city’s General Elections Commission (KPU Jakarta) that forced him to take campaign leave.
On March 10, the legal team of Ahok and his running mate Djarot Saiful Hidayat filed a complaint with Bawaslu against KPU decree number 49, which required the pair to take leave from March 7 to April 15 ahead of the runoff vote.
The lawyers argued the regulation contradicted the commission’s decree number 41, which only required the candidates to participate in an official debate during the 10-day campaign period.
They asked Bawaslu to revoke decree number 49, which they said disadvantaged the pair.
However, Mimah Susanti, the head of Bawaslu Jakarta, said the agency would not grant the request.
“The request did not have a legal basis,” Mimah said in a hearing at the Bawaslu Jakarta headquarters in Sunter, North Jakarta, as quoted by kompas.com.
Mimah said that the commission’s decision to oblige the incumbents to take leave during the campaign period was the correct one.
A campaign is a part of the political education of the public, which the candidates could use to sharpen their missions and programs, she said, and so therefore the decree should not be revoked. (cal)
