Govt goes ahead with regional elections<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government's preparations for the country's first regional
\nelections continues despite the ongoing judicial review process
\nof Law No. 32\/2004 on regional elections.<\/p>\n
Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf said the judicial process
\nat the Constitutional Court did not affect the election
\npreparations because they were already approximately 60 percent
\ncomplete.<\/p>\n
\"Of course we'll respect and abide by any legal rulings. But
\nlet me remind people that these elections must be immediately
\nexecuted because further delays will adversely affect the
\nperformance of the local governments,\" he said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Constitutional Court's acceptance of the judicial review
\nwill cancel all preparations for the direct elections of mayors,
\nregents and governors.<\/p>\n
Ma'ruf said he had submitted the operational budget for the
\nelections to the Ministry of Finance, amounting to Rp 929.56
\nbillion (US$99.95 million), excluding the costs of civic
\neducation, technical assistance and evaluation.<\/p>\n
\"We expect the government to cover half of the costs from the
\ncentral government budget, while the remainder will come from
\nlocal budgets. But the decision is up to the finance minister,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Money from the central government budget will be distributed
\nto each regency and municipality proportionally, depending on
\ntheir respective financial capacities.<\/p>\n
\"Of course we will allocate more for areas that have limited
\nlocal budgets or that have just been established recently,\" said
\nTimbul Pujianto, the directorate general of finance for local
\nadministrations at the home ministry.<\/p>\n
At least 181 regencies\/cities are expected to hold regional
\nelections by June, while 45 others will be done by December.<\/p>\n
Law No. 32\/2004 came into force in October 2004. While the law
\nwas ostensibly enacted to nurture democracy in the country, many
\nhave warned of a possible backlash over its many confusing
\nstipulations.<\/p>\n
A number of non-governmental organizations and provincial
\nbranches of the General Elections Commission have challenged the
\nlaw in the court, saying it contravenes the Constitution as it
\nfails to ensure principles of fairness and impartiality during
\nand after elections.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs also rejected questionable sections of the law
\nconcerning the resolution of administrative and election
\ndisputes, and crimes arising from poll proceedings.<\/p>\n
The Constitution stipulates that disputes over results of the
\ngeneral elections at the national level shall be settled by the
\nConstitutional Court, but it says nothing about how to solve
\ndisputes in local elections.<\/p>",
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