Unresolved issues in electoral bill to be voted on<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
With only four days remaining to resolve 21 contentious articles
\nin the electoral bill, all nine factions in the House of
\nRepresentatives have agreed to vote on the articles if they are
\nstill deadlocked when they meet for the final time on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
A number of legislators involved in the deliberation of the
\nbill expressed doubt that they would be able to arrive at a
\nconsensus over the articles by Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"A series of discussions between the leaders of political
\nparties and House factions have shown that they won't hesitate
\nabout voting (on the articles),\" said legislator Ali Masykur Musa
\nof the National Awakening Party at a press briefing here on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Ali, a member of the House special committee deliberating the
\nelectoral bill, said the unresolved articles were related to the
\nelectoral system.<\/p>\n
The bill was to have been endorsed on Jan. 30 but was delayed
\nuntil Feb. 11, and delayed once more because of the numerous
\nunresolved issues.<\/p>\n
The leaders of the General Elections Commission again warned
\non Monday that further delays in the endorsement of the bill
\nwould jeopardize preparations for the 2004 general election.<\/p>\n
Zaenal Arifin, a House special committee member from the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), said
\nhis party's intention to maintain its power to determine which
\npoliticians would be seated in the House had sparked ongoing
\narguments among other factions.<\/p>\n
The stance of the PDI Perjuangan, chaired by President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri, to maintain control over its
\nrepresentatives in the House contradicts its approval of the
\nelectoral system to be used in the 2004 elections.<\/p>\n
The House factions have agreed to adopt a combination of a
\nproportional system and an open-list of candidates for the
\nelections. This system will enable voters to choose their
\nlegislative candidates directly, replacing the old system under
\nwhich voters only were able to cast their ballots for political
\nparties.<\/p>\n
The new system suggests the executive boards of parties can no
\nlonger determine which politicians will fill the House seats.<\/p>\n
Apart from the electoral system, the factions are still
\ndebating a number of other issues, including the number of seats
\nin the House.<\/p>\n
All of the factions have agreed to increase the number of
\nseats in the House from the current 500, but they remain split on
\nthe final number. There are currently three choices being
\nfloated: 525, 550 and 600.<\/p>\n
The number of House seats must be increased because more
\nprovinces have been established in the country.<\/p>\n
Although the committee deliberating the electoral bill pledged
\nto endorse the bill on Feb. 18, this deadline has not been
\napproved by the House's steering committee, prompting doubt among
\nthe public over how serious the House is about endorsing the
\nbill.<\/p>\n
Of the 76 steering committee members, only 19 showed up for
\nThursday's meeting, during which the date was to be set for the
\nplenary session to seek the House's approval of the electoral
\nbill.<\/p>\n
Deputy House Speaker Tosari Widjaja said, however, that the
\nschedule for the bill's endorsement could be set during a House
\nleadership meeting in the next few days.<\/p>\n
Separately, a caucus of women politicians has criticized the
\ncourse of the bill's deliberation, saying the debate over the
\nelectoral system had distracted people's attention from gender
\ninequalities in politics.<\/p>\n
Ignoring women leadership in politics was tantamount to
\nneglecting potential solutions to the problems faced by women and
\nchildren, the group said during a media conference.<\/p>\n
The press briefing was attended by legislators Ida Fauziyah of
\nPKB and Marwah Daud Ibrahim of the Golkar Party.<\/p>\n
They want the committee deliberating the electoral bill to
\napprove an article reserving 30 percent of House seats for women.<\/p>\n
Currently, women legislators account for less than 10 percent
\nof the House.<\/p>",
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