Court ruling on local polls hailed

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Constitutional Court's decision to allow minor political parties to nominate their own candidates in upcoming direct regional elections was a positive contribution towards the development of the nation's democracy, an expert has said.

Ryaas Rasyid, a professor at the Institute of Public Administration (IIP) and a former minister of regional autonomy, said that the decision would allow more candidates to run in the nation's first-ever direct elections of governors, regents and mayors.

"The Constitutional Court's ruling will give a more democratic flavor to regional elections by allowing small parties to nominate their own candidates," Ryaas told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

"But in reality, major parties will still dominate elections because they have the money and a larger political network among eligible voters."

He was responding to the Court's decision on Tuesday, which allows minor parties that do not have local council representation to nominate candidates for the positions of governor, major and regent, by forming coalitions with other parties in such a way that they garner 15 percent of votes in the legislature.

The Court made the ruling after a number of leaders of minor parties in the regions, as well as various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), filed a petition for a judicial review of several contentious articles of Law No. 32/2004 concerning regional elections.

Some 215 regions will be holding elections in June of this year to select their executive leaders. It will be the very first time in Indonesia that regional leaders have been directly elected, and is seen as an important step forward in the development of the nation's democracy.

Elsewhere, Ryaas said that the Court's decision would also encourage pro-democracy activists to seek a judicial review of the presidential election law in a bid to allow small parties to also nominate their candidates for the 2009 presidential election.

"Minor parties should be allowed to nominate their own candidates in the next presidential elections," he said.

Ryaas, however, criticized a ruling by the Court that retains the role of the central government in regional elections.

Certain NGOs had previously demanded that the Court annul the central government decree on the regional elections, saying instead that the authority to issue election regulations should be given to the General Elections Commission, which administered last year's presidential and legislative elections.

Activists have argued that the decree allows the President to have a certain influence over the conduct of regional elections.

"The Constitutional Court does not touch on or solve the key problem and, in fact, it has worsened the problem. It apparently favored the government in this case," he said.

"It's a setback because the decree allows the executive body (central government) to be in charge of regional elections," he said.

Another positive decision made by the court, however, was the scrapping of a ruling requiring the provincial office of the General Elections Commission (KPUDs) to be responsible to local legislative councils (DPRD). The Court ruled that the KPUDs should instead report to the KPU.

Experts have said that forcing KPUDs to report to the DPRD, which consists of political parties active in the elections, would run counter to the principles of democracy.

Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'aruf said on Wednesday that the government would draft a regulation in lieu of law to accommodate changes in regional election regulations made by the Constitutional Court.