Direct presidential election urged by MPR experts

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)