Mega, Hamzah likely to miss election campaigns<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz
\nare unlikely to hit the 2004 campaign trail as the government and
\nlegislators deliberating the election bill have agreed in
\nprinciple to ban state officials from election campaigns.<\/p>\n
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said on Monday that the
\nrestriction was designed to avoid conflicting interests among
\npolitical leaders in public office.<\/p>\n
\"This is designed to dodge conflicting interests, namely those
\nof political leaders and state officials,\" Hari said in a working
\nmeeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) special committee
\ndeliberating the election bill on Monday.<\/p>\n
The final decision, however, will be discussed further with
\nthe working committee.<\/p>\n
The working committee will also decide whether the House
\nspeaker and chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR),
\nthe country's highest law-making body, were also considered to be
\nstate officials. If the committee declares Akbar Tandjung and
\nAmien Rais as state officials, they will also be banned from
\ncampaigning in the 2004 election.<\/p>\n
Megawati, Hamzah, Akbar and Amien have all indicated their
\nwillingness to run for the presidential post in the upcoming
\nelections.<\/p>\n
The election bill, drafted by the Ministry of Home Affairs,
\nstipulates that state officials, such as the president, vice
\npresident, chief justice, chairmen of the Supreme Advisory
\nCouncil (DPA) and the State Audit Agency (BPK) as well as Cabinet
\nministers, were not allowed to campaign during a general
\nelection.<\/p>\n
It also bans the Bank Indonesia governor and his or her
\ndeputies, provincial governors, regents and mayors, village heads
\nand directors of state enterprises from campaigning.<\/p>\n
During the working meeting, Megawati's Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) strongly opposed the
\nrestriction and called for a revision of the article to allow
\nstate officials to join election campaigns.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military\/Police faction supported the proposal
\nand expanded the list to include the House speaker and MPR
\nchairman on the list of officials not allowed to campaign in the
\nelections.<\/p>\n
Golkar Party fully endorsed the draft, which sources said was
\napparently because its chairman, Akbar, was not included on the
\nlist.<\/p>\n
Hamzah's United Development Party (PPP) was silent on the
\nproposal but called for the exclusion of civil servants in any
\nelection campaign.<\/p>\n
The existing Election Law No. 3\/1999 does not ban state
\nofficials from campaigning, but prohibits the use of state
\nfacilities and houses of worship as campaign sites.<\/p>\n
Hari said on Monday that state officials included those
\nworking in the executive, judicial and legislative bodies.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that the legislative body was excluded from
\nthe list. \"If the legislators were also banned from taking part
\nin the campaign, then who would be campaigning?\" he asked.<\/p>",
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