Election emergency plans

Having denied the facts for weeks while apparently waiting for some kind of miracle to happen, the General Elections Commission (KPU) yesterday was finally forced to admit it would be practically impossible for the country to hold simultaneous legislative elections throughout the country on April 5.

Speaking after a meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri, KPU boss Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin conceded the commission had no other choice but to delay the balloting in several regions, especially in remote areas in Kalimantan, Maluku, Papua, Aceh and North Sulawesi.

Because the law requires the election should be conducted simultaneously, however, the government, the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Commission now need to work together to provide a legal framework to serve as a legal base for the delay. Any postponements will create more problems in vote counting. They will also delay the announcement of the final election result.

We regret the commission has buried its head in the sand on this issue because local KPU officials have been openly complaining about the slow printing process and erratic delivery of ballot papers, ink and other materials. If the commission had acted earlier, the problem could have been solved faster with less cost.

But the problems are not just about ballot papers. In Jakarta alone, thousands of registered voters have yet to receive their voting cards. In several regions, there are reportedly not enough funds to build simple polling booths. There are reports the information technology (IT) network prepared by the KPU is still not operational in many places. There is also concern over security issues surrounding the vote counting.

In facing this emergency, however, we hope the political parties, the House of Representatives and the government, will not waste more time and blame only the General Elections Commission for the delay, or wash their hands of this failure. House members must remember they also could be blamed for this problem, because of their failure to pass election-related bills on time last year.

Despite these shortcomings, however, many people still respect the integrity of the commission's members. They are certainly undertaking a huge task, and as most of them are academics who have no experience in bureaucratic work, to a certain extent we can understand the shortcomings.

It is time now to sit down together to ensure the delay will be as minimal as possible, and to control the damage it might cause. It is hoped all parties will refrain from exploiting the commission's blunder, putting their own short-sighted interests above those of the nation's.

Containing the damaged that has been caused by the delay must be our main focus now.

In this context, we regard the threat of Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra on Monday to jail KPU members as unproductive. As a government official and as the leader of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) he should show his statesmanship in resolving this crisis. It is also regrettable the Golkar Party has found it necessary to issue a statement -- from executive Agung Laksono -- rejecting any election delays. While we can understand the parties' disappointment, their remarks will only worsen the situation.

The KPU is expected to use all possible resources, including Indonesian Military (TNI) transportation, to accelerate the delivery of the ballot papers and speed up other election activities. While it must maintain its independence, the KPU must be more flexible from now on in overseeing the counting of the ballots and other related activities.

The election must be held as scheduled, although postponements in certain areas seem unavoidable. But the principles of a free, just and democratic election must not be sidelined just because initial deadlines were not met.

The show must go on. When these legislative elections are over, we will still have to face the July 5 direct presidential election and a possible runoff on Sept. 20. If this legislative election is derailed because of technical problems, the next election will also be in doubt.