Candidates told to unveil aids
Candidates told to unveil aids
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta
In an attempt to convince voters of the prospects of their
administrations, presidential candidates Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
and Megawati Soekarnoputri need to disclose their respective
Cabinet lineup before the election runoff, experts say.
They believe disclosure of the lineups will also bring the
candidates closer to the electorate, given the General Elections
Commission (KPU) decision to allocate only three days for
campaigning for the two contenders.
The cabinets the candidates offer will also encourage people
to exercise their right to vote, the observers say.
"Revealing the composition of the Cabinet will help voters
examine the track records of the ministerial candidates and
determine their choices," political analyst Fachry Ali told The
Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He added that people were relatively well informed about the
quality of the presidential candidates and their running mates.
"Now is the time for voters to know who will assist the
presidential candidates," he said.
Krisna Harahap, a legal expert, concurred with Fachry, saying
revelation of the Cabinet lineups would help people understand
the policy commitments of the presidential candidates.
"I think the candidates should appoint professionals to their
cabinets. The candidates should avoid horse trading purely to
accommodate the interests of other political parties," said
Krisna, a former member of the Constitutional Commission.
Separately, KPU member Hamid Awaluddin said his team had met
with strategists of both the candidates to discuss campaign-
related issues.
According to Hamid, both contenders had agreed that there
would be no street rallies, public gatherings or mass
mobilization during the three-day official campaigning period.
"Both teams prefer to use media campaigns, in either the print
or electronic media," Hamid said.
KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti added that his office was
giving consideration to allowing both candidates' teams to place
campaign paraphernalia in public places before the start of the
campaigning period.
"Images of the presidential candidates, for example, could be
displayed in strategic places," he said.
The campaign period will run from Sept. 14 through Sept. 16.
Hamid said campaigning would be allowed on those days only,
and KPU officials would prohibit it at any other time.
Article 4 of the law on presidential elections says that
activities may be categorized as campaigning if they are carried
out by presidential candidates, their running mates or their
campaign teams, or aimed at wooing voters, through dissemination
of the manifestos of presidential candidates, in written form or
in speeches, within the timeframe set by the KPU.
Hamid said the KPU would meet again with the candidates'
campaign teams to discuss technical matters in the campaigns.