MPR undecided over presidential election procedures<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
\ncompleted deliberation on procedures of presidential nomination
\nand election on Sunday, but left three major issues unresolved.<\/p>\n
Hari Sabarno, deputy chairman of the MPR Ad Hoc committee II
\ndeliberating draft decrees other than the State Policy
\nGuidelines, told reporters after Sunday's session that his team
\nwas split on selection stages a presidential candidate must
\nundergo, the need for an open debate for candidates and the
\npossibility of naming alternative candidates if the election ends
\nin a stalemate.<\/p>\n
\"We can allow for faction or MPR leaders to settle the issues
\nbefore they are brought to the plenary MPR meeting,\" Hari said as
\nquoted by Antara after attending the ad hoc committee session.<\/p>\n
He said the MPR might resort to voting if agreement on the
\nmatters could not be reached.<\/p>\n
\"Decision-making through a vote, other than the traditional
\nmethod of deliberation for consensus, will prevent us from
\nreaching a deadlock. Whatever the result of the vote, everybody
\nmust accept it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Voting has become the order of the day in the MPR, which used
\nto chant a unison of approval under the 32-year reign of the New
\nOrder regime. The 700-member MPR voted on the composition of
\nfactions and its chairmanship last week.<\/p>\n
Apart from the unsettled issues, the ad hoc committee agreed
\nthat a faction or a group of 70 MPR members is allowed to
\ncampaign for a presidential candidate and that a presidential
\nnominee is subject to presenting his or her vision on national
\nunity.<\/p>\n
According to the committee, a presidential candidate must be
\n40 years of age or above and agree to declare his or her wealth.
\nThe committee, however, proposed some unquantified requirements
\nfor the candidates, including honesty, fairness and charm.<\/p>\n
A group of lecturers representing the Center for Electoral
\nReform (Cetro) met with the ad hoc committee earlier in the day
\nto express support for an open presidential nomination and a
\ndebate between presidential candidates.<\/p>\n
The ad hoc committee has also approved the draft decree on MPR
\ninternal rules. It has 13 drafts more to deliberate over the next
\nfour days.<\/p>\n
It will begin deliberating the draft on East Timor on Monday,
\nafter a hearing with foreign minister Ali Alatas. Chairman of the
\nad hoc committee Sabam Sirait said Alatas was expected to brief
\nthe MPR members about the latest developments in East Timor,
\nwhich voted against the government's wide-ranging autonomy offer
\nin the Aug. 30 ballot.<\/p>\n
Ad Hoc Committee III, meanwhile, continued its deliberation on
\nconstitutional amendments, which focus on 1945 Constitution
\narticles related to the MPR's and a president's authorities.<\/p>\n
A committee member, Khofifah Indar Parawansa of the National
\nAwakening faction, said remaining articles to be amended would be
\ngiven to the new MPR committee which would be assigned to
\ncomplete the amendments before Indonesians celebrate the nation's
\n55th Independence Day on Aug. 17, 2000.<\/p>\n
Khofifah said the Constitution should clearly determine
\npresidential authority as a head of state or a head of
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
\"There must be elaboration of presidential privileges and
\nauthority which need approval from the MPR, the House of
\nRepresentatives and the Supreme Court,\" she said.<\/p>\n
On MPR authorities, Khofifah said the ad hoc committee would
\nrecommend that the highest lawmaking body be empowered to elect
\nand dismiss leaders of high state institutions, including the
\nSupreme Court, the Supreme Supervisory Council and the Supreme
\nAudit Agency.<\/p>\n
\"The present practice allows the state institutions to ignore
\ntheir accountability to the public. A chief justice, for example,
\ntakes an oath which obliges him or her to be responsible to God
\nand his or her conscience. This is very difficult to gauge,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
To sum up the first week of deliberation in the MPR working
\ncommittee, Assembly Speaker Amien Rais praised the smooth process
\nof the deliberation.<\/p>\n
\"So far I don't think the committee sessions will pose a
\nhurdle to the MPR General Session, which will resume on Oct. 15,\"
\nAmien told a media conference on Sunday night.<\/p>\n
On the possibility of a presidential debate, he said MPR
\nleaders recommended that Ad Hoc Committee II not propose a
\nquestion-and-answer session to follow the presentation of a
\npresidential candidate's vision. (amd)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mpr-undecided-over-presidential-election-procedures-1447893297",
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