Army conducts study on electoral system

Army conducts study on electoral system

JAKARTA (JP): The Army Staff and Command College has launched
its own study concerning the various alternatives of the general
election system that Indonesia could adopt in the future, the
Army Chief of Staff said.

Gen. Hartono told reporters in Bandung on Saturday that the
college has taken the initiative to conduct the study which, when
completed, would be submitted to the Indonesian Institute of
Sciences.

The institute has been asked by President Soeharto to study
which election system is best suited to Indonesia: The current
proportional representation, in which the House of
Representatives' seats are divided among the political groups
according to their tally of votes, or the district system, in
which each seat is won by the majority winner, no matter by how
small a margin.

The college, which is based in Bandung, is also considered the
Army's think tank group, which played a prominent role in laying
down the foundations of the New Order administration of President
Soeharto at the start of his rule in 1966.

Hartono was in Bandung over the weekend to mark the college's
44th anniversary.

Asked specifically when the study would be completed and
presented to the institute, the general turned the question over
to the college commandant, Maj. Gen. Arifin Tarigan, who quickly
replied, "Hopefully before this December." (emb)