Bill bans independents from local ledership elections
Bill bans independents from local ledership elections
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives and the government finished on
Monday deliberating the bill amending the current autonomy
legislation, with the final version of the new bill maintaining
the ban on independents from freely contesting direct elections
for chief executive posts at the local level.
A candidate must be nominated by a political party or a
coalition of parties securing at least 15 percent of the seats in
the local legislature, or at least 15 percent of the overall
popular vote, the bill states.
It adds that individuals wishing to contest elections for the
offices of governor, mayor or regent must comply with the
internal selection process of a political party or group of
parties.
"Political parties or groups of parties should provide
opportunities for eligible individuals to run for office, and
assess their qualifications transparently before nominating
them," legislator Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa told a hearing of the
House special committee deliberating the local government law
amendment bill.
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno and Minister of Finance
Boediono attended the hearing, which was presided over by Agustin
Teras Narang of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-
P).
The bill on the amendment of Law No. 22/1999 is slated for
endorsement during a House plenary session on Sept. 29, one day
before the House ends its five-year term.
The government had proposed that an individual gaining the
support of 1 percent of the total number of eligible voters in
the respective local government jurisdiction should be able to
nominate themselves to run in elections for local offices.
But the proposal was rejected by most House factions, which
insisted that all candidates must be nominated by political
parties or groups of parties.
Without the support of the political parties in the local
legislature, a local administration would not be able to work
effectively, they claimed.
The bill stipulates that if none of the candidates win more
than 50 percent of the vote, the candidate who has gained more
than 25 percent of the vote and more votes than any of the other
candidates would be declared the winner.
If two candidates have an equal share of the vote, the one
whose support is better distributed than the other will be named
the winner.
If none of them gain a 25 percent share of the vote, the two
candidates with the biggest shares of the vote will have to face
an election runoff.
Ministry of Home Affairs director of regional autonomy
Oentarto S. Muwardi said his ministry had prepared government
regulations on the procedures for the holding of local direct
elections.
There will be around 150 elections for local chief executive
posts next year, including those for the governors of Bengkulu
and Jambi provinces, he added.
Oentarto said the bill authorizes the president to suspend a
governor, mayor or regent who is named a suspect in a crime that
carries a minimum penalty of five years in jail.
The home affairs minister can also suspend a mayor or regent
in similar circumstances, he added.
Agun said the bill also barred foreign observers from
monitoring local direct elections, while campaign donations from
individuals and institutions must not exceed Rp 50 million and Rp
350 million respectively.
Key Articles in the bill
Article 233:
- Local direct elections will be held in June 2005 for chief
executive posts falling vacant between 2004 and June 2005.
- Local elections will be held in December 2008 for chief
executive posts falling vacant between January 2009 and July
2009.
Article 234:
- For a local chief executive whose term end before June 2005, an
acting chief executive will be appointed to replace him until a
new chief executive has been elected.
Source: The House Special Committee