Lack Of Funds Bangkalan Regency Government Must Delay Simultaneously Pilkades In 149 Villages

Coordination meeting for postponement of the simultaneous Pilkades in 149 villages in Bangkalan Regency/Photo: Antara

BANGKALAN - The Bangkalan Regency Government, East Java, has decided to postpone the simultaneous village head elections (pilkades) in 149 villages this year to 2023. According to Bangkalan Regent Abdul Latif Amin Imron, the decision to postpone the simultaneous village election was due to several considerations. because the available budget for the simultaneous Pilkades is still lacking, so we decided to postpone the Pilkades in Bangkalan this year," he said in Bangkalan, Sunday, March 13. The Regent explained that the simultaneous Pilkades in 149 villages required a budget of Rp. 24 billion. However, what is available so far is only R14 billion. Therefore, the district government needs to save the budget so that it is not possible for this year's Pilkades. The number one person in the Bangkalan Regency Government environment further explained that the budget for the Pilkades is minimal because part of the APBD funds is to deal with the pandemic. COVID-19. Moreover, said the Regent, Bangkalan was recorded as the district with the highest number of cases when compared to three other districts on Madura Island, even Bangkalan District experienced an explosion of COVID-19 cases in 2021. "We have held coordination meetings with cross-sectors and forkopimda who finally agreed to postpone the implementation of the Pilkades by prioritizing the handling of COVID-19," he said as quoted by Antara.

Actually, according to the Regent, the simultaneous pilkades in 149 villages spread across 18 sub-districts could have been held according to a predetermined schedule. However, the consequence is that he has to withdraw part of the budget for handling COVID-19. If there is no budget allocation for handling COVID-19, the Regent is worried that this type of disease will spread even more. In fact, the government has determined this case as a disaster which in the provisions of the legislation must be a priority. Regarding the decision to postpone the simultaneous Pilkades, the Regent said that his party had conveyed socialization to village heads through the sub-district head. In general they accept the decision.