Analysts urge election delays in all regions

Analysts urge election delays in all regions

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The central government is being urged to delay local elections as
most regions appear to be unprepared for the polls and existing
regulations contain many legal loopholes, which are feared may
spell chaos during the elections.

Former state minister of regional autonomy Ryaas Rasyid said
the election of governors, mayors and regents, scheduled to start
in June nationwide, would not give a boost to democracy because
the central government was allowed to intervene in the polls.

The elections would instead be a setback for democracy as the
regions were ill prepared to hold the events, he added.

"It would be better for the government to delay the elections
without setting a deadline because each region has its own
specific problems. Let the regions determine their own schedules
to hold the elections," Ryaas told The Jakarta Post over the
weekend.

Earlier last week, the government issued a regulation in lieu
of law in response to the Constitutional Court's verdict that
annulled several articles of Law No. 32/2004 on regional
administrations.

The new ruling allows for possible delays in direct elections
in certain regions due to security disturbances and natural
disasters.

"We can't pick certain schedules to determine whether the
regions can go ahead with the elections, because each region has
its own specific problems. In Poso (Central Sulawesi), for
instance, the elections may not be held within a year following a
series of violent clashes.

"While in Aceh and Nias, the elections probably won't take
place within the next five to six years," Ryaas said, referring
to the Dec. 26 tsunami in Aceh and the powerful earthquake that
struck Nias on March 28.

Ryaas said that apart from security and social concerns, the
government should seriously consider other factors, including the
late disbursement of funds and logistical materials for the
elections, as strong reasons to postpone the polls.

A similar call was made by Indra J. Piliang, a researcher with
the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He
said the local elections should be delayed until the many legal
loopholes in the existing regulations were addressed.

Indra asserted that the Election Supervisory Committee
(Panwaslu), which is supposed to be an independent body, could
not be without bias as it must report to the local legislative
councils that consist of members of political parties.

He called the planned direct elections (Pilkada) "the central
government's political program for regions instead of supporting
the spirit of democracy".

Indra referred to the establishment of the Pilkada desk at the
Ministry of Home Affairs, whose main tasks are similar to those
of the General Elections Commission (KPU).

The desk will undoubtedly meddle in the local direct
elections, he added. "The project does not promote democracy as
it shows a centralistic approach."

The first ever direct elections will replace many local
administration heads -- governors, mayors and regents who have
ended or will end their five-year terms this year.

The government has allocated Rp 1.25 trillion (US$135.87
million) from the state budget for the local elections
nationwide.

A rigorous debate, however, is continuing between the
government and the House of Representatives over the budget.
Lawmakers disagree with the proposed spending on information
campaigns about the elections directed at the public ahead of the
polls.

Ryaas said many regions may decide to delay their elections
due to financial problems, as the House will likely approve the
disbursement of the election funds some time in June.

"The government has asked the regions to finance the election
preparations at the earliest, while waiting for financial support
from the central government. Of course, this will only create
more financial problems in the future," he said.