TEMPO.CO, Semarang - Constitutional Court’s (MK) ruling lifting bans on ex-convicts to run in regional heads elections has allowed Central Java branch of Functional Group (Golkar) party to nominate former prisoner candidates.

Sasmito, the treasurer of Central Java branch of Golkar party, said that his party will nominate Soemarno Hadi Saputro, a former convict whose case was investigated by the Corruption Commission Eradication (KPK), as a Semarang Mayor Candidate this year.

“After a thorough consideration, we finally decided to nominate Pak Marno [Soemarno],” Sasmito told Tempo in Semarang on Sunday, July 12, 2015.

Soemarno served as Semarang Mayor for the period of 2010-2015. Before his term ended, the former regional secretary of Semarang City was entangled in a corruption case back in 2011. Soemarno was imprisoned at Cipinang Correctional Center after he was found guilty for bribing Semarang City Council to pass the 2012 city budget. The case was exposed after the KPK arrested regional secretary Akhmad Zaenuri and two councilors.

Sasmito said that he was not concerned with Soemarno’s status of being an ex-convict since the case was not directly linked to state losses.

“The case was specific. It’s not directly categorized as corruption but bribery,” Sasmito explained, adding that the bribery was directly committed by the regional secretary, instead of Soemarno.

Sasmito clarified that Golkar had reviewed Soemarno’s corruption case. He called what happened to Soemarno was a bad luck.

Ismet Abdullah, former Riau Islands governor, will run as Batam mayor candidate for the period of 2015-2020. Ismeth decided to run in the election after the Constitutional Court lifted the bans on ex-convicts to run as regional heads candidates.

Earlier, Jakarta Corruption Court’s judge panel ruled that Ismeth was guilty of being involved in a corruption case surrounding the fire truck procurement project by Batam administration in 2004-2005. The court sentenced Ismeth to two years in prison and fined him Rp100 million (US$7,700). Ismeth was conditionally relleased in June 2011.

ROFIUDDIN | RUMBADI DALLE