Direct presidential election seen for 2004

Direct presidential election seen for 2004

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Abu Hanifah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesians will most likely elect their president and vice
president directly in 2004 as all factions at the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR), the country's highest legislative
body, have agreed to adopt the direct presidential election
system.

Assembly Speaker Amien Rais said that all factions had agreed
to adopt a direct presidential election, and would debate the
remaining technicalities during the Assembly's 10-day Annual
Session, which begins on Thursday.

"There is a great possibility that the article on a direct
presidential election will be endorsed," Amien Rais told the
media after attending a meeting of Assembly factions.

"This is a great leap forward because the people will have
chosen a president and a vice president either from a political
party or from a certain group. We should be grateful for that,"
Amien added.

Amien said, however, that further discussions on the
election's technicalities would be discussed with the Assembly's
ad hoc committees.

He did not elaborate on whether or not the discussion could be
resolved during the coming Annual Session.

Separately, Jacob Tobing, the chairman of Ad Hoc Committee I,
which is preparing the constitutional amendment, said nothing
could hamper the process toward the direct presidential election
for 2004.

"It is certain that in 2004 we are going to have a new
electoral system; that is, the direct presidential election. And
we are hoping we can decide on the details of the procedure in
the Annual Session," Jacob told The Jakarta Post.

He said that there were currently two options for the direct
presidential election procedures that had won support from the
Assembly factions.

The first option, which is supported by the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, will allow
the people to directly choose one of two pairs of presidential
and vice presidential candidates from the two political parties
that win the majority vote in the general election.

However, should the winning pair fail to secure 51 percent of
the total vote, then the People's Consultative Assembly would
select one of the pairs.

"The idea behind this concept is to avoid the possibility of a
prolonged process," he said.

The second option, which has gained support from the Golkar
Party faction, proposes that the election be repeated if none of
the pairs win 51 percent of the vote.

Jacob said the two options received almost the same amount of
support from Assembly members. "So it is very possible that if we
cannot reach an agreement over the procedure, we'll have to
postpone it until next year," he remarked.

However, he expressed confidence that the first option would
gain more support and the entire constitutional amendment would
be finalized at the Annual Session.

Jacob dismissed speculation that the first option would allow
the Assembly to retain its "superpower" authority over all
institutions in the country.

"In our proposal, the Assembly will act as an electoral
council, and it will not have the authority to demand the
president's accountability," Jacob said.

Meanwhile, Amien noted that the issue of whether to maintain
the powerful Assembly or transform it into a bicameral
legislature would also be debated during the Annual Session.

"I can't say anything about this as it will be discussed at
the session. But one thing for sure is that if we proceed with
that, there will be major changes to regulations," Amien said.

If the proposal is approved, the Assembly will consist of two
chambers, the House of Representatives and the Representatives of
Regional Councils (DPD).

Amien said the Assembly would not push itself to amend
articles considered crucial, adding that it would resolve it at
the next Annual Session.

"Crucial articles need to be thoroughly studied. We will not
insist on voting to enact the articles because there is a
possibility that we may make the wrong decision, whereas we still
have another year to think about it," Amien said.