Candidates' histories need to aired on TV

Candidates' histories need to aired on TV

A. Junaidi, Jakarta

The General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Indonesian
Broadcasting Commission (KPI) will soon issue a joint decree on
presidential campaigning via electronic media, encouraging
television stations to air the track records of presidential
candidates.

"The revelation of track records is aimed at informing the
public on the background of presidential and vice presidential
candidates: It's like education for voters," KPI member Bimo
Nugroho told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Bimo suggested that the stations reveal information on Gen.
(ret) Wiranto, the presidential candidate of the Golkar Party,
including his alleged links to human rights violations in the
Trisakti and Semanggi shooting incidents and East Timor rioting.

He said the stations could also disclose information on other
candidates, including Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of the
Democratic Party and Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid of the National
Awakening Party (PKB).

Besides Wiranto, Susilo and Gus Dur, the other presidential
candidates are incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Amien Rais of
the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Hamzah Haz of the United
Development Party (PPP).

Furthermore, Bimo explained, the planned joint decree would
also regulate advertising by presidential candidates on
television during the one-month campaign period starting June 1.

"The decree will allow presidential candidates to advertise
themselves on television for longer than was permitted during the
legislative election campaign period as long as it does not
exceed 20 percent of a TV station's daily airtime," he said.

The KPU and KPI earlier issued a joint decree for the
legislative election campaign, permitting 24 political parties to
place ads on television for a maximum of 10 slots of 30 seconds
each per station per day.

Bimo said the longer duration for advertising would be
permitted as the July 5 election would be participated in by
fewer contestants -- six pairings of presidential and vice
presidential candidates.

"We hope that the candidates will focus more on their
programs, instead of just promoting their names or symbols as
happened in the legislative election campaign period," he
asserted.

Currently, there are 13 national television stations,
including state-owned TVRI.

For the legislative election, the PDI-P reportedly spent about
Rp 39 billion (US$4 million) on advertising, Golkar Rp 21
billion, and other parties less than Rp 6 billion. Most of the
money was spent on TV ads.

Besides advertising, Bimo revealed the decree prohibited the
candidates from buying special time, known as "blocking time", on
television for their campaigns.

"If there is a talk show that supports a particular
candidate's campaign, the TV station should put out an
announcement that it's an ad," he added.

The draft decree has been thoroughly discussed by the KPU, the
KPI and the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) for almost two
weeks.

Separately, Cetro executive director Smita Notosusanto stated
the decree would also urge the KPU and television stations to
organize a debate between presidential candidates.

"It will be free of charge for candidates to join the debate
and to introduce their programs. It will be good way of educating
voters," Smita asserted.

She said, however, that candidates might skip the debates as
they were not obligatory.