Direct election of Jakarta governor still possible: Cetro
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.