Husband And Wife In Wonosari Compete In Election Of Village Head, Both Claim To Be Ready To Lose

Ballots for socialization in Wonosari Village, Sepaku District, PPU Regency, East Kalimantan (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - A husband and wife in East Kalimantan Province have both admitted that they are ready to lose the race for the Wonosari Village Head seat, Sepaku District, North Penajam Paser Regency (PPU), the area for the new state capital candidate (IKN).

"My wife and I are both ready to lose. That's why we don't have a campaign, but carry out socialization to make the simultaneous Local Election successful on December 15," said Kasiyono, a candidate for the Wonosari Village Head for the 2022-2028 period in Wonosari, Sunday, November 21.

In the simultaneous election of village heads (pilkades) in PPU Regency this year, Kasiyono received serial number 02. While Emilia Kartika (Kasiyono's wife) was in serial number 01. They have the same chance to become Wonosari Village Heads.

Besides being ready to lose, Kasiyono also admitted that he was ready to win so that he would continue the work program in the previous period which had not been completed, especially in the development of cave ecotourism, because in the local village there was Goa Tapak Raja which had not been managed optimally.

During the Wonosari Pilkades nomination 6 years ago, Kasiyono received 80 percent of the votes, while his two rivals had 20 percent of their total votes.

"Six years ago the number of permanent voter lists (DPT) in Wonosari was recorded at 700 people, then 600 people came to cast their votes. Of the total votes, I got 80 percent of the votes," he said.

In the current Pilkades, he continued, the number of DPT in Wonosari is around 900 people. However, he did not specify the percentage of the vote because his political opponent was his own wife.

Meanwhile, Emilia stated that she was ready to lose because she was optimistic that her husband would win the Pilkades. In fact, during the socialization, she asked the public to vote for serial number 02, not serial number 01.

"I ran for village head at the last second of closing the registration form because, until the deadline for submitting the registration form, only my husband registered. If there is only one candidate, the village election will be postponed," she said.

The deadline for submitting the village head candidate registration form (kades) is September 21, 2021. However, if there is only one candidate in one village who registers, the registration period is extended by 20 days.

The simultaneous Pilkades in PPU Regency on December 15, 2021 will be held in 14 villages, namely Wonosari, Tengin Baru, Bukit Raya, Bukit Subur, Girimukti, Sumber Sari, Babulu Darat, Rawa Mulia, Gunung Makmur, Sebakung Jaya, Babulu Laut, Sri Raharja, Sesulu, and the Fires.