Fair selection of KPU candidates called for<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): An alliance of 12 nongovernmental organizations
\n(NGOs) called on the House of Representatives on Wednesday to
\nmaintain transparency and fairness in selecting candidates for
\nthe next General Elections Committee (KPU).<\/p>\n
\"The House should seek input from numerous independent
\nsocietal groups before selecting the 22 candidates,\" Smita
\nNotosusanto, a spokesman for the NGOs, said, referring to the 22
\ncandidates proposed by the government.<\/p>\n
She said the House should first set the criteria before
\ncarrying out with the fit and proper tests.<\/p>\n
\"The House should have a moral obligation to drop candidates
\nwho do not meet the criteria and cannot pass the fit and proper
\ntest,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The twelve NGOs, including the Center for Electoral Reform
\n(Cetro), the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), Solidarity for
\nWomen, Environmental Forum (Walhi) and the Indonesian Election
\nSupervisory Committee (KIPP), said they were concerned with the
\ngovernment's lack of transparency in selecting the 60 names
\nproposed by numerous social and political organizations.<\/p>\n
They said the lack of transparency in the selection by the
\nMinistry of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy had lessened
\npublic support for the candidates.<\/p>\n
Leopold Sudaryono of KIPP said the House should only endorse
\ncandidates who are independent, physically and mentally healthy,
\nand strongly committed to democracy and social justice.<\/p>\n
\"Candidates should never have been involved in human rights
\nabuses or any other crimes.<\/p>\n
\"They are not officials of any political party in the past
\nfive years and are ready to have their wealth audited,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Teten Masduki, ICW coordinator, said the commission's next
\ncomposition would certainly influence the quality of general
\nelections in the future and therefore the quality of democracy in
\nthe future.<\/p>\n
\"Last year's controversial general election which was marked
\nby vote rigging and widespread procedural violations by election
\nparticipants must be a good lesson for all of us (nation),\" he
\nsaid<\/p>\n
Leopold said the NGOs were conducting their own evaluation of
\nthe 22 candidates, most of whom had failed to meet the criteria
\nestablished by the NGOs.<\/p>\n
\"If the House adopts our criteria, most candidates will be
\ndropped,\" he said, explaining that the results of the NGOs'
\ncandidate evaluations would be announced to the public days
\nbefore the fit-and-proper test, which is scheduled for Oct. 23.<\/p>\n
Among the 22 candidates proposed by the government were Anas
\nUrbaningrum, former chairman of the Indonesian Islamic Student
\nAssociation (HMI), KIPP chairman Mulyana W. Kusumah, Catholic
\npriest and intellectual, Mudji Sutrisno, chairman of the
\nIndonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI)
\nHendardi, and chairman of the Indonesian Youth Committee (KNPI)
\nAdhyaksa.<\/p>\n
Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, chairman of House Commission II on
\nHome and Legal Affairs, which has been assigned to handle the
\nselection, said his commission might not conduct a fit-and-proper
\ntest, but hold a dialog with the candidates to ensure their
\ncommitment to the commission's vision and mission.<\/p>\n
\"The candidates's track record should not be a subject of
\nquestioning because they are from independent organizations,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He added that the candidates must have met the criteria set by
\nthe NGOs. (rms)<\/p>",
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