Candidates vying for top posts in regional and local body elections in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua later this year have been told they don't need an endorsement letter from the Papua People's Assembly.
The Elections Commission head, Benny Sweni, says the elections, to be contested in 21 regencies and municipalities, will be based on a 2004 law and won't require the Assembly's recommendation.
The Jakarta Post reports that this comment contradicts the Commission's earlier stance, which initially supported the Assembly's decree that candidates must be Papuan natives.
Mr Sweni made the call after meeting with the Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu, who told him he wouldn't back the Assembly's decree.
