Direct presidential election urged by MPR experts
JAKARTA (JP): A team of experts from the People's Consultative Assembly proposed on Thursday constitutional amendments that included a direct presidential election.
The team, comprising 13 scholars of law and political science, told a hearing with the assembly ad hoc committee that the president and vice president must come from the same camp and contest the top executive posts as a duet.
"We stipulate in article 6a of our draft that there will be only two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates who will contest the direct election. The two pairs represent the top two political parties or coalition of parties that win the most House seats," Maswadi Rauf, the team's spokesman told the hearing.
To win the presidency, a candidate needs a simple majority of the vote, and collects at least 20 percent of the vote in at least two-thirds of the constituencies, the team proposed.
The team set terms for presidential and vice presidential candidates, who must be Indonesian citizens by birth with good physical and mental health, no less than 40 years old of age and with no criminal record.
Altogether, the team proposed amendments to 13 articles of the 1945 Constitution concerning legal and political affairs.
The draft proposed that general elections be conducted to elect members of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional Representative Council (DPD) and the provincial council, president, vice president and heads of regional administrations.
The proposed presidential election system will reduce the MPR's role to only appointing the president and vice president in case of a vacancy.
However, the MPR will maintain its authority to dismiss the president and vice president, the draft said.
The proposal also stipulates an impeachment mechanism and requirements needed to dismiss the president or vice president, along with a mechanism to fill in the vacant post(s).
Since 1999, the Assembly had amended 30 articles of the 1945 Constitution, but none of the changes had touched the general election issue.
Separately, academics grouped under the Habibie Center threw their weight behind the direct presidential election, saying that it would accommodate people's aspirations and at the same time establish a strong and legitimate president and people's representative.
"A direct election will increase the degree of popular trust, although there is no guarantee that it can maintain the legitimacy of a leader," the center's spokesman Doddy Yudhista said in a statement.
The center further underlined the need to make significant changes to the Constitution, rather than just revising political laws.
"Changing the election system in the Constitution will be the best way to minimize the weaknesses of the current political system," Doddy said.
The center suggested that the country should apply the district system for the 2004 general election, saying that the system would ensure people's participation and representation and accountable legislators.
"The district system will lead to the bicameral legislative system. Apart from direct presidential election, we badly need a strong and accountable legislature that can effectively control the president," he said.(dja)