Abdul Khalik and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Jakarta/Bandung – Over 5,000 members of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and Nahdhatul Ulama (NU) gathered on Sunday in Depok, West Java, to protest a court ruling that declared Golkar Party candidate Badrul Kamal the winner of the June 26 Depok mayoral election.

During the protest, the crowd held a joint prayer at a parking lot near the Depok Police station and the municipality office. Several PKS and NU figures, including the party's candidate in the disputed election, Nur Mahmudi Ismail, addressed the crowd.

Nur Mahmudi's running mate, Yuyun Wirasaputra, who also attended the gathering, is a noted NU member in Depok.

Nur Mahmudi told the crowd the decision by the West Java High Court to overturn the result of the mayoral election was legally flawed.

"We gather here to reject the ruling. It has a weak legal basis. The KPUD has also rejected the ruling," he said, referring to the Depok General Elections Commission.

Nur Mahmudi told his supporters to stage peaceful protests against the decision and to avoid violence.

The West Java High Court said in last Friday's ruling that it had found 27,782 votes had been incorrectly given to Nur Mahmudi, and 62,770 votes taken from Badrul. The panel of five judges said the correct vote count was 269,551 votes for Badrul and 204,828 votes from Nur Mahmudi, giving the election to the Golkar candidate.

However, the ruling was based mostly on claims by Badrul supporters who testified during the trial. No Nur Mahmudi supporters were summoned to testify during the trial.

The chairman of the PKS faction at the city council, Qurtifa Wijaya, said the KPUD had submitted a letter to West Java Governor Denny Setiawan rejecting the court ruling.

He said Denny would have to submit the letter to the minister of home affairs. "The letter was delivered by the KPUD itself. I have checked that the letter has made its way to the governor," Qurtifa said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs Mohammad Ma'ruf said in Bandung on Saturday he would leave it to the Depok General Elections Commission to decide on the court ruling and submit a recommendation to the mayor, the governor and himself.

"It will be a long process before a new Depok mayor is installed. The KPUD should report to the governor on their decision and the governor will then report to me," he said.

Ma'ruf, who was met by hundreds of PKS supporters in Bandung, said the government would not interfere with the courts and called on the public to respect the legal process. "How can I inaugurate anyone if I have not received the court's decision or the KPUD report?" he asked.

Sri Sumantri, an expert on state administrative law at Padjajaran University, said the Supreme Court should make a clear decision on whether it would review, accept or investigate the West Java High Court's ruling.

"The law stipulates that the high court's ruling is final but it does not state clearly if the KPUD is bound by it. The Supreme Court has to make it clear," he told The Jakarta Post.

He proposed that Article 106 of Law No. 32/2004 on regional elections be revised to avoid confusion in the event of a similar dispute.