Civil society group sues KPU for perceived election failures
Civil society group sues KPU for perceived election failures
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta
A civil society group calling itself the People's Movement for a
New Indonesia (GRIB) filed a civil suit on Monday with the
Central Jakarta District Court against the General Elections
Committee (KPU) for its perceived failure to stage an election
that fulfilled the public's hope for better government.
The group, comprising 16 individuals claiming to represent
some 34 million citizens, requested the court to disband the KPU
and overturn the results of the April 5 legislative election.
"We are also requesting that the upcoming presidential
election, scheduled to take place on July 5, be postponed until
the court issues a verdict in our case," said Sri Bintang
Pamungkas, one of the plaintiffs.
Sri Bintang, who is a former member of the House of
Representatives from the United Development Party (PPP) and
former chairman of the Indonesian United Democratic Party (PUDI),
also said that the GRIB would persevere with its suit until the
KPU allowed independent candidates to join the presidential race.
In its petition to the court, the GRIB explained that the
Indonesian people had long wanted to be allowed to freely
nominate and directly elect their preferred candidates --
including independent ones -- in the 2004 General Elections in
the hope of getting a better government that truly represented
the people.
However, this aspiration has been dashed as the electoral
process was still based on laws and regulations that restricted
and confined the people's voting rights to political parties.
Furthermore, the GRIB had also said that the recent
legislative election had been marred by a lack of professionalism
and unsatisfactory performance on the part of the KPU, corruption
and bribery.
The GRIB, on behalf of the public, was therefore demanding
that the KPU be held accountable.
Indonesia will hold its first direct presidential election on
July 5, following the legislative election for members of the
House of Representatives, the Regional Representatives Council
(DPD) and two tiers of local government that were held on April
5.