Campaign countdown to start next March: KPU<\/p>\n
Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The General Elections Commission (KPU) announced on Tuesday the
\ncampaign period ahead of the upcoming legislative election would
\ntake place between March 11 and April 1, 2004.<\/p>\n
The KPU is also mandated to ensure that the election campaign
\nruns in a peaceful, educative and well-organized manner and that
\nclashes involving racial or religious issues are avoided.<\/p>\n
\"We will look into cooperating with the police force to
\nprovide security during the campaign,\" KPU deputy chairman Ramlan
\nSurbakti said here.<\/p>\n
The KPU will announce the parties qualifying for the 2004
\nlegislative election on Dec. 8 this year. The announcement will
\nfollow party verification by the Ministry of Justice and Human
\nRights, which the KPU says will finish on Oct. 27.<\/p>\n
During the campaign period, all eligible parties will be
\nallowed to hold campaign rallies. The KPU will organize the
\nschedule for each party to campaign.<\/p>\n
\"We are also looking into cooperation with regional
\ngovernments and the media to monitor campaign equipment and
\npolitical advertisements in the media,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The country's first-ever direct elections will begin
\nnationwide on April 5 next year for the legislative election to
\nbe followed by a presidential election in which some 130 million
\nvoters are expected to participate.<\/p>\n
On a separate note, KPU plans to send more voter registration
\nforms to several regions that have complained of a shortage of
\nforms.<\/p>\n
\"We have printed the additional registration forms to be sent
\nto about 22 regions. We will allocate about Rp 950 million
\n(US$106,741) from our current budget,\" Ramlan said, however he
\ndeclined to reveal from where he would obtain the money.<\/p>\n
The lack of registration forms is among several problems
\nfacing the voter registration process as earlier the commission's
\npartner, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) had signaled a delay
\nin its deadline of April 30.<\/p>\n
Previously, the BPS revealed that unofficial field officers
\nwere conducting voter registration, creating confusion among the
\nBPS and the public. The BPS predicted that the voter registration
\nprocess would be delayed by about two weeks due to the duplicate
\nentries by the trained and untrained officers.<\/p>\n
The KPU is still convinced that the election will run
\naccording to plan. \"Everything is subject to changes and
\nadjustments. However, the election will proceed within its
\nplanned time frame,\" Ramlan said.<\/p>\n
----------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
KPU Timetable for the Legislative Elections, April 5, 2004
\n----------------------------------------------------------------
\n1. Party verification process July 9 - Oct. 9, 2003
\n2. Aggregation process for<\/p>\n
parliamentary seats July 8 - July 28, 2003
\n3. Announcement and draw of eligible<\/p>\n
parties ballot numbers Dec. 8, 2003
\n4. Political campaign period March 11 - April 1, 2004
\n5. Cooling-off period April 2 - April 4, 2004
\n6. Legislative election day*<\/p>\n
(8 a.m. until 2 p.m.) April 5, 2004
\n7. Announcement of<\/p>\n
the election result April 21 - April 30, 2004
\n8. Inauguration of new members<\/p>\n
of the House of Representatives<\/p>\n
-Regental House members July 2004<\/p>\n
-Provincial House members August 2004<\/p>\n
-House of Representatives members<\/p>\n
and Regional Representatives Council September 2004<\/p>\n
*national holiday
\nSource: KPU
\n----------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>",
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