JAKARTA (Yosefardi) – The Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) has suggested the General Election Commission (KPU) to extend the registration period of regional leader candidates in 7 regions having only one pair of candidates.
According to the Head of the Bawaslu, the recommendation was delivered to the KPU after the meeting between the Bawaslu and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, and several leaders of the State high institutions at the Bogor Presidential Palace, Wednesday (Aug. 5).
Commenting to the recommendation, the Commissioner of the KPU Hadar Nafis Gumay stated that there is a risk that some might file a lawsuit to sue KPU should the KPU follow up Bawaslu’s recommendation to open another extension of registration period of regional leader candidates in 7 regions.
Hadar, however, said that the KPU still discuss the recommendation.
As reported earlier, 7 out of 269 regions that will take part in the simultaneous regional elections this year have only have one pair of regional leader candidates registered at the local election commission. Those 7 regions are Tasikmalaya (West Java), urabaya, Blitar, and Pacitan (East Java), Samarinda (East Kalimantan), Mataram (West Nusa Tenggara), and Timor Tengah Utara (East Nusa Tenggara).
The Head of the KPU Husni Kamil Manik earlier said that the local elections in 7 regions then will be postponed to the second stage of simultaneous regional elections in February 2017 accordance to KPU’s Regulation No. 12/2015. (haryantosuharman@yosefardi.com)