Election body sets campaign schedule
JAKARTA (JP): The soon-to-be disbanded General Election Agency has scheduled the election campaign to run from May 18 through June 6, and banned the mobilization of the masses in order to prevent clashes among party supporters.
The chairman of the agency, Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid, said the election agenda which included the campaign season has been arranged to give ample time for the political parties to prepare for the June 7 polls.
"So what we have here is a tentative schedule starting from the registration of political parties to the actual balloting and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) General Session in November," he said after a meeting of the election agency leadership.
Syarwan said in accordance with the legislation on general elections, political parties contesting the poll were required to hold indoor campaign activities.
"Political parties will not be allowed to mobilize the masses in open fields and party supporters will be barred from taking to the streets. These measures are meant to prevent clashes and violence like in the past," he said.
He also said around 30 out of the around 200 political parties are expected to be eligible to contest the elections.
The agency itself, known by the local acronym of LPU, would be replaced by an independent elections committee called KPU stipulated in the newly-endorsed act on elections.
Also attending on Monday were Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, Minister of Justice Muladi, Secretary-General of the home affairs ministry Feisal Tamin, Chief of Armed Forces Territorial Affairs Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Deputy House Speaker Hari Sabarno and several legislators.
The three pieces of legislation on political parties, general elections and composition of the Assembly, the House of Representatives, provincial and regency legislatures were endorsed by the House on Jan. 28. After one month of dissemination, the bills are expected to be accepted enough by the public for President B.J. Habibie to sign them into law.
The tentative election schedule is as follows:
* Feb. 1-March 1: Registration and selection of political parties eligible to contest the elections.
* March 16-April 17: Registration of voters.
* March 15-April 15: Nomination of legislators for the House of Representatives, and for provincial and regency legislatures.
* May 18-June 6: Election campaign season.
* June 7: Balloting and vote counting.
* July 3-12: Announcement of election results for House legislators. Those winning seats in provincial legislatures will be announced from June 27 until July 2 while election results for regency legislative councils will be announced between June 20 and June 26.
* Aug. 29: Inauguration of new legislators in the lower House. Legislators in regency and provincial legislatures will be installed on July 20 and July 25 respectively.
Litsus
Meanwhile, election agency spokesman Herman Ibrahim said candidate legislators would no longer be subjected to the notorious screening process, known as Litsus or special screening, by certain agencies, especially the Armed Forces.
Presidential elections will be held during the Assembly's General Session which is scheduled to start on Nov. 11.
Herman also said the election agency was set to be disbanded on March 1 and would be replaced by an independent election committee (KPU) whose main task was to organize the elections.
"Before being officially disbanded, the election agency will handle four main tasks: Preparing a work plan and elections schedule, disseminating the political laws, training staff that will be involved in running the elections and establishing an independent team to select political parties," he said.
"The government and parties eligible for the election will form the National Election Committee," he said.
He added the new committee would further arrange matters related to the elections, including establishment of a code of conduct and selecting nominees for representatives of social and mass organizations for the MPR.
Syarwan emphasized the importance of the elections, saying it was an absolute necessity in the context of political reform.
"That is why we have joined forces to complete the deliberation of the political bills in time because they form the legal foundation for the elections," he said.
Many political parties have criticized the bills and the government regulation on civil servants for their failure to accommodate their aspirations.
Syarwan called for public commitment to a democratic, fair and free general election. He said it was needed to establish a strong political platform for democratization, and for the establishment of a legitimate and credible government so the nation could soon defuse the crisis.
The strong platform for political reform was only needed to curb the prevalent money politics and politically related violence, he said.
"The public is awaiting a friendly political situation where components and parties are able to form mutual solidarity," he said. (rms)