Direct election of Jakarta governor still possible: Cetro

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) said on Wednesday that a direct gubernatorial election for the city's next governor was still possible this year even though the upcoming election is scheduled for September.

"The final say rests with the city councillors. If they wanted to, they could immediately change the bylaw to implement a direct election," Cetro's executive director Smita Notosusanto told a discussion organized by the Legal Aid Institution (LBH).

The problem, Smita said, was whether or not the councillors were courageous enough to implement such a system for this year's gubernatorial election.

Smita stated that the councillors could use the second amendment of the 1945 Constitution as sufficient legal basis to draft a new bylaw on the gubernatorial election.

Smita referred to Article 18, Paragraph 4 of the Constitution, which stipulates that governors, mayors and regents, as heads of provinces, mayoralties and regencies, should be elected "democratically".

"If they consider the time is too limited (to draft a new bylaw), they could easily postpone the election by one month or two months," Smita contended.

Smita revealed that her organization had also provided a draft of the bylaw on a direct election should the councillors make an excuse about time constraints.

Smita said that a direct election would prevent "money politics" from dominating the gubernatorial election.

Under the current election, it would be easier for the candidates to "buy" votes from councillors, who totaled only 85 people, Smita said.

However, councillor Abdul Aziz Matnur contended that the system could not be implemented due to its lack of legal standing.

The stipulation in the amendment to the Constitution did not suggest specifically a direct election, so there was no strong legal basis for inferring this when interpreting the phrase "democratic election" in relation to regional administrations, said Abdul, who is also a member of City Council Commission A for administrative and legal affairs from the Justice Party.

Meanwhile, scholar at the School of Political and Social Sciences of the University of Indonesia Arbi Sanit shared Smita's view, saying that a direct election would provide a worthwhile political education for the public.

"The candidates would have to secure the vote of every resident by means of a door-to-door campaign. Through such interaction, the public would learn much about politics and its language, and be well-informed on the candidates' qualities and their allegiance to the public interest," Arbi said.

Arbi contended that such a political education would enable the public to compare the qualities of each candidate and determine who would be the best choice as new governor.

Arbi criticized the current electoral system, which would leave the elected governor on a weak footing in the eyes of residents.

"Under the current electoral system, the governor is elected by the councillors, who are from political parties that are also a part of national parties," said Arbi, adding that in such a situation, councillors were often influenced by party rather than public interests.

In a direct election, Arbi said, the public could also ask its government to be properly accountable.

Sutiyoso's tenure will end in October, but he has expressed his willingness to be reelected for a second five-year term.

The next election, if conducted indirectly, would be determined by the 85 city councillors. The largest party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, has 30 seats and would play an important role.

Cetro also suggested that a direct election would require candidates to win at least 25 percent of the votes from three of five mayoralties and receive at least 51 percent of residents' votes.

"Relying upon a simple majority of votes could be unfair, as candidates who won many votes from certain mayoralties would have no incentive to campaign in others," Smita said.