Assembly likely to approve direct presidential election

Assembly likely to approve direct presidential election

JAKARTA (JP): The highest law-making body is set to amend two
key legislations in the near future.

Five major factions of the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) on Wednesday threw their weight behind the proposed
district system for the general election and direct presidential
election.

This is a major shift from the current proportional system and
indirect presidential election in which the president is elected
by the Assembly.

The five factions include the Golkar Party, United Development
Party (PPP), National Mandate Party and the Crescent Star Party
(PBB). The factions want to approve the legislations in the MPR
annual session scheduled for Nov. 1.

Spokesman for the Golkar faction, Rully Chairul Azwar, said he
hoped the proposed amendments to the Constitution's chapters on
the general election, presidential election and MPR's composition
were approved during the session.

"It is urgent because most people know that the MPR has agreed
to holding a direct presidential election and the district
electoral system," he said in an ad hoc subcommittee meeting on
Wednesday.

Rully urged the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) faction, the largest faction in the Assembly, to join
other factions in approving the district electoral system and the
direct presidential election in 2004.

"The annual session will approve the amendment if the PDI
Perjuangan faction accepts it," he said.

Lukman Syaifuddin, spokesman for the PPP faction, said
however, that time was running short for the government and the
House of Representatives (DPR) to review the 1999 political laws
and for the General Elections Commission (KPU) to disseminate the
new electoral system, unless the proposed amendment was written
into the Constitution.

"MPR will have to race against time to allow a necessary
review of the political laws and the dissemination of the new
electoral system and direct presidential election," he said.

The government and the DPR need at least three months to amend
the political laws while the KPU needs two years to disseminate
the district electoral system and direct presidential election.

Responding to the factions' suggestion on a direct
presidential election, PDI Perjuangan said it wanted to maintain
the Assembly's role in electing the president, or at least to
formalize the results of the presidential election.

Haryono, a spokesman for PDI Perjuangan, warned other factions
of political implications if the district electoral system and
direct presidential election were written into the Constitution.

"Our faction wants to maintain the present proportional system
in the general election and the Assembly's task to at least
formalize the results of the presidential election," he said.

However, he said that his faction supported the proposal to
revamp the Assembly.

"All legislators and regional representatives must be elected
through the general election," he said.

Slamet Effendy Yusuf of the Golkar faction said the ongoing
amendment process was proceeding far too slowly because the PDI
Perjuangan faction had been conservative on the amendment.

"It has been under way since November 1999, but except for
several chapters, the deliberation of the important issues has
been suspended," he said.

Citing an example, he said the subcommittee had deliberated on
two issues of the Assembly's composition and tasks and the
presidential election for over two months without any results.

Hamdan Zoelva, the spokesman for the PBB faction, agreed and
added that the public would know which parties were truly
supporting the reform movement and were committed to upholding
democracy.

He said the Assembly could not make any changes without the
support of the PDI Perjuangan faction, which occupies more than
one-third of the seats in the Assembly.

Assembly decisions are valid if they receive the support of at
least two-thirds of its 700 members. (rms)