The Jakarta Post, August 31 2015
The Surabaya chapter of the General Elections Commission (KPU) has cancelled the candidacy of Rasiyo and Dhimam Abror for the upcoming mayoral elections in December this year, leaving incumbent mayor Tri Rismaharini unchallenged for the position.
“We decided that the documents presented by Rasiyo-Dhimam Abror were not sufficient for the elections,” KPU Surabaya commissioner Nur Syamsi told reporters on Sunday.
As a result, Nur said, KPU Surabaya would open a three-day registration period for new candidate pairs starting on Sept. 6, given the fact that Risma, who paired with incumbent deputy mayor Whisnu Sakti Buana, constituted the sole candidate pair after the cancellation of the Rasiyo-Abror pair.
Rasiyo, who was former East Java Education Agency head, and Abror, who was former chief editor of Jawa Pos daily, had been nominated by the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN). The elections could be postponed until 2017 if there are no candidates to challenge the popular Risma, who was nominated by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.
*