Jakarta (ANTARA) \u2013 Ahmad Irawan, a member of Commission II of the\nIndonesian House of Representatives, said the number of members of the\nGeneral Elections Commission (KPU) has been proposed to increase to nine\nfrom the current seven.<\/p>\n
Irawan said the proposal was part of an evaluation of the previous\nelection and was planned for inclusion in a revision of Law No.\u00a07 of\n2017 on General Elections (the Elections Bill).<\/p>\n
\u201cThe KPU only has seven members, which is not adequate, so we want to\nrationalise the number, although this will of course be based on an\nassessment of operational needs. The evaluation findings propose\nincreasing the KPU\u2019s membership from seven to nine,\u201d he said, speaking\nby telephone from Jakarta on Friday.<\/p>\n
The proposal to expand the KPU\u2019s membership stems from an evaluation\nof the previous simultaneous elections. Seven members were considered\ninsufficient to manage the entire electoral process, and the number\ntherefore needed to increase.<\/p>\n
The proposed expansion also takes into account election-management\nrequirements and each member\u2019s workload.<\/p>\n
Irawan said the complexity of the election organisers\u2019 duties was not\nconfined to voting and counting, but also arose during the preparation\nstage. During this period, he said, KPU commissioners had to remain on\nstandby both in regional offices and at the national level.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring preparations, they sometimes have to deal with issues in the\nregions, while the office in Jakarta is left empty. There needs to be\nsomeone always on standby at the office. So this is really more about\nelection-management arrangements,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The number of members of the national Election Supervisory Agency\n(Bawaslu) is also planned to increase, from five to either seven or\nnine.<\/p>\n
However, Irawan stressed that the proposals remain at the stage of an\nacademic paper and a draft Elections Bill. Discussions are still\nevolving, and the bill\u2019s working committee will examine the proposals\nwith various parties, including state institutions and academics.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to obtain public input on these matters as part of\nmeaningful participation,\u201d he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/legislator-proposal-to-increase-kpu-membership-to-nine-1792763506", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }