'Direct election in 2004 at all costs'

'Direct election in 2004 at all costs'

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Pnom Penh

The 2004 presidential and vice presidential election will have to
take place regardless of the financial burden it places on the
state budget, President Megawati Soekarnoputri has asserted.

Speaking to members of the Indonesian community living in
Cambodia during a function at the Indonesian embassy here,
Megawati said the election must go ahead as it would serve as a
learning process for both the general public and the political
elite in Indonesia.

"The finance minister has started to raise questions over the
significant state funds that will be needed for the election. The
security forces are also questioning the cost of maintaining
security. But whatever the case, we must proceed with the
election," Megawati said.

The President was attending the Association of Southeast Asia
Nations (ASEAN) summit here, and is to fly back to Jakarta late
on Tuesday.

Indonesia will elect members of the House of Representatives,
Regional Representatives Council and the president/vice president
in 2004. The latter election is to be direct for the first time
ever.

The House is debating whether the elections should take place
simultaneously or separately as proposed by the government.

The People's Consultative Assembly has stipulated that the
presidential/vice presidential election, the bill for which is
being prepared by the government, should be conducted in two
rounds unless one of the contesting tickets wins a simple
majority and collects in at least 16 provinces.

Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, which won
the most votes in 1999, initially rejected direct presidential
elections, citing the public's lack of preparedness for the new
system.

The President said it would be a challenge to proceed with the
elections, for which 218 political parties have registered
themselves. Only 48 parties contested the 1999 elections.

"I wonder how the people will choose from all of these
parties," Megawati remarked, adding that the number could be
reduced if the people so wanted.

The presidential/vice presidential election would be
complicated too because of the requirements that had been set.

"We have to be prepared for whatever will happen, whether
there is to be a single round or two rounds," the President said.

Megawati also expressed her concern about the way her critics
continued to attack her administration without offering solutions
or concrete answers.

She particularly hit out at government critics for insisting
that the economic and political crises plaguing the country would
continue. This belief, she said, would only discourage recovery
efforts.

"Even foreigners love our country and hope Indonesia will
emerge from the crises. Should those foreigners be asked to mend
this nation? Of course not, it's our responsibility," Megawati
said.