Civil Servants Must Remain Neutral in Local Elections: Minister

Bandarlampung, Lampung, Dec 5 (ANTARA Lampung) - Minister of State Apparatus` Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform Yuddi Chrisnandi has said that civil servants (ASN) must remain neutral during the simultaneous regional head elections to be held on December 9, 2015.

"Leave out the ego that could hamper development. On December 9, make sure that ASN are taking a neutral stance. Whoever wins, bureaucracy must run continuously and serve for the people`s welfare," the minister said here Saturday.

He called on the community and the government to unite and cooperate.

Lampung Governor M Ridho Ficardo asked every ASN in Lampung to maintain neutrality during the local elections.

He would sanction any ASN found supporting certain candidates, he said.

In Lampung Province, simultaneous regional head elections will be organized in Bandar Lampung municipality, Metro, Central Lampung, and South Lampung, in addition to East Lampung, Pringsewu, Pesawaran and Waykanan.

Indonesia is gearing up for the first-ever simultaneous regional head elections (pilkada) to be held in some 53 percent of its districts and municipalities across the country on December 9, 2015.

The pilkada 2015, which is the first stage of the simultaneous pilkada, is important as the people in 269 regions will be able to simultaneously and directly elect regional heads.

More than 800 candidates will contest in the pilkada that will elect nine governors and vice governors, 224 district heads and their deputies, and 36 mayors and their deputies.

Of the total participating regions, three have only a single candidate each: Blitar in East Java, Tasikmalaya in West Java, and North Timor Tengah in East Nusa Tenggara.

The government has planned to use an e-voting system in the second stage of the pilkada to be organized in 2017 and in the legislative and presidential elections in 2019.