15,305 councillors to be elected next year
15,305 councillors to be elected next year
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A total of 1,780 councillors in 30 provinces and another 13,525
in 410 regencies and municipalities will be elected during the
2004 general elections, the General Elections Commission (KPU)
announced Monday.
KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti said the number of
councillors for 27 provinces was decided based on a recent census
carried out by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
However, the number of councillors for Aceh, Maluku and Papua
was made based on a combination of BPS data and a projection as
the census did not fully cover the three provinces, he said.
"This is the most accurate result since it is made based on
factual data. The number of seats will be different from those in
1999; in 1999 the number of seats was based on a rough estimate,
not to mention the fact that the KPU had to accommodate certain
political interests instead of using factual data," Ramlan said,
adding that the total population in 2003 was recorded at 214.56
million.
With the KPU announcement, people in some provinces like
Jakarta, South Sumatra, Lampung and North Maluku would elect
fewer councillors in 2004 than they did in 1999.
Jakarta, for example, will have 75 council seats, down from
the present 85 seats, while the number of councillors in South
Sumatra will drop from 75 to 65.
However, the number of councillors in Riau will increase to 65
from 55.
Aceh will have 69 seats, up from 55, while Papua will increase
to 56 from 45, due to the implementation of special autonomy in
both provinces.
The new province of Banten will have 75 seats; Bangka Belitung
and Gorontalo 35 seats each.
Based on Law No. 12/2003 on general elections, provinces with
a population size of between less than 1 million and more than 12
million will have between 35 and 100 councillors.
The law also stipulates that legislative councils in regencies
or municipalities with a population size ranging from less than
100,000 to more than 500,000 provide between 20 and 45
councillors.
Ramlan said the KPU decision for the number of councillors in
2004 was final.
"KPU will still calculate the seats for new provinces and new
regencies or municipalities that will have been established by
September. We will not deal with regions that will be established
afterwards. Those regions can establish their own councils based
on another government mechanism," he said without elaborating.
Councillor seats at provincial level
---------------------------------------
Province 2004 present
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Aceh 69 55
North Sumatra 85 85
West Sumatra 55 55
Riau 65 55
Jambi 45 45
Bengkulu 45 45
South Sumatra 65 75
Lampung 65 75
Jakarta 75 85
West Java 100 100
Central Java 100 100
Yogyakarta 55 45
East Java 100 100
West Kalimantan 55 55
Central Kalimantan 45 45
East Kalimantan 45 45
South Kalimantan 55 54
North Sulawesi 45 45
Central Sulawesi 45 45
South Sulawesi 75 75
Southeast Sul 45 45
Bali 55 55
West Nusa Tenggara 55 55
East Nusa Tenggara 55 55
Maluku 45 45
Papua 56 45
*North Maluku 35 45
*Banten 75 not available
*Gorontalo 35 not available
*Bangka Belitung 35 not available
-----------------------------------------
*New provinces
Sources: KPU and the Ministry of Home Affairs