Director Garin Nugroho Eyes Independent Run in Yogyakarta Election
Jakarta/Yogyakarta. Filmmaker Garin Nugroho is one of 15 candidates eyeing a run as an independent in the 2017 Yogyakarta mayoral election.
Grassroots initiative "Jogja Independent" or "Joint" will select a pair of suitable candidates out of the 15 names — including businessmen, civil servants, artists and academics, a Joint press statement issued on Sunday (03/04) said.
“The youngest candidate is 25 years old and the oldest 65,” Joint secretariat coordinator Yustina Neni told the Jakarta Globe.
A series of public hearings have been scheduled to test the would-be independents this week. Former Judicial Commission chairman Suparman Marzuki and former Yogyakarta mayor Herry Zudianto will lead the hearings.
Revered film director Garin said he's ready for the hearings, having canceled a number of attendances in film festivals in Italy and Vietnam to prepare.
“I’ve been active in cultural development for 35 years. I've worked with NGOs during past elections [in 1998 and 2004]. I think it's time for me to dedicate myself as a servant of the public,” Garin told reporters.
Joint is slated to select and announce its pair of independent candidates on April 15. They will then look to collect signatures and copies of ID cards from 45,000 eligible voters, which is required to allow the candidates to run as independents.
Seven provinces, 76 districts and 18 cities will take part in simultaneous regional elections across the country next year.
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