Election commission decides Jakarta runoff between Ahok and Anies will have a campaign period after all

As close as the first round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election was, most would agree that the campaign period leading up to it got ugly on way too many occasions.

Many, including us, breathed a sigh of relief after learning that there would be no campaign period for the runoff election between the incumbents, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama/Djarot Saiful Hidayat, and rivals Anies Baswedan/Sandiaga Uno.

However, in a twist that highlights the indecisiveness of election organisers and the ambiguity of election laws, it turns out there will be a campaign period after all.

“It doesn’t feel right if the candidates aren’t given another chance at campaigning, meeting the people, or other forms of campaigning. We’re worried that if they’re not allowed to campaign, there would instead be activities nuanced as campaigning – that was our evaluation from the 2012 election,” said Jakarta General Election Commission (KPU DKI Jakarta) Commissioner Dahliah Umar, as quoted by Warta Kota today.

The decision was reached after KPU DKI Jakarta held a meeting with national election body KPU Indonesia. Details about the runoff campaign, such as when it will come into effect, haven’t been revealed yet.

There was also no mention of whether the incumbents would have to go on another legally mandated leave during the planned campaign period.

Governor Ahok tried to fight against the law – which was designed so that incumbents can’t use the administration’s finances to fund their campaign – by filing for a judicial review with the Constitutional Court, but he still ended up having to leave office for four months during the last campaign period. Ahok’s temporary replacement at the time, Soni Sumarsono, did not prove popular among many citizens of Jakarta due to suspicions of abuse of authority.

Should the official result of the first round of the Jakarta gubernatorial election remain uncontested in court by any of the candidates, then the run-off election will be held on April 19. Otherwise, the election could be pushed as far back as June.