Direct vote suggested for local officials

JAKARTA (JP): A law observer suggested on Friday that the government introduce a direct voting system in the election for local officials such as regents, mayors and governors to prevent the practice of money politics.

"In a direct vote, people directly choose their favorite candidates and, therefore, eliminate chances of candidates bribing councilors in a bid to win the election," Bambang Widjoyanto, chairman of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), said.

He was commenting on the alleged occurrence of money politics in the election of Depok mayor last Tuesday, which led to rage on the part of supporters of another candidate who lost the vote.

Under the current system in most provinces across the country, except Jakarta, candidates for the posts of mayor, regent and governor are screened and elected by local councilors.

In Jakarta, mayors at the five mayoralties are appointed directly by the governor, who is elected by local councilors.

However, Bambang, who is also a member of the ethical board of the Indonesian Corruption Watch, acknowledged that many people might not be ready to participate in the direct system.

He was wary that less-educated people, who make up most of country's population, would choose incompetent candidates for the important positions.

But he insisted that the direct system was the only viable option to meet people's aspirations, compared to the current system which is considered disadvantageous to the public.

"The direct system will allow people to vote for officials they consider able to fight for their interests," he said.

"Allegations of money politics are rampant in some areas, including Bali, Padang and Surabaya. If those cases truly occurred, this means the councilors betrayed their people, people who chose them during the general election," he said.

He said immediate action must be taken to stop the tendency, while people have to recognize and help establish the strong grounds for introducing the direct voting system.

"There should be strong supervision of councilors by the people to prevent money politics occurring again in future," he said. (asa)