East Java's 19 Districts, Municipalities Ready for Head Elections

Surabaya, E Java (Antara) -- The East Java Provincial General Elections Commission (KPU) said that 19 districts and municipalities in the province are ready to hold the regional head elections simultaneously on December 9. They are ready, now that they have handed over the regional grant agreements (NPHD). \"Earlier, it was feared that the two districts of Ponorogo and Banyuwangi would fail to hold the elections in 2015. However, they handed over the NPHDs at 10.00 p.m. on Monday,\" Head of the East Java KPU Eko Sasmito said here on Wednesday. The KPU will discuss the NPHDs with the governments of the 19 districts and municipalities to disburse election funds as phases of the elections begin in June, he added. \"To be sure, all districts and municipalities have handed over NPHDs to us. We will discuss the agreements with the district and municipal governments to disburse election funds from the provincial budget,\" Sasmito stated. Earlier, the KPU in Ponorogo district had asked for extra time till Wednesday, May 20, two days after the May 18 deadline on Monday, to hand over the NPHD. In addition, the KPU in Banyuwangi district was undecided about handing over the agreement till Monday evening. The NPHD is based on law number 8/2015 on regional head elections. The central government had decided to not provide extra funds to the governments of districts and municipalities that will hold regional head elections simultaneously in 2015. (*) Reported by Edy M Ya\'kub