Election law gets low priority

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite public fear of a suspended election, amendment of the general election law is not a priority in the upcoming session of the House of Representatives (DPR), which will start on Monday.

Chairman of the House's legislation body Zein Badjeber said on Friday that the House would have to rush through other, more urgent, bills.

"Ideally the election bill should be deliberated in a special committee (to be set up later)," Zein told The Jakarta Post.

According to Zein, there were at least four bills that had to receive priority for deliberation: on a commission for the eradication of corruption, on advocates, on money laundering, and on amnesty.

After the Constitution has being amended, allowing the country to adopt a direct presidential election system in the 2004 election, many related laws will also need to be revised.

The amendment also requires the establishment of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), which will back the formation of a bicameral parliamentary system.

Member of the General Election Commission Mulyana W. Kusumah said earlier that the government would need 18 months to publicize the election law prior to the ballot. Therefore, speedy deliberation was recommended.

Zein said, however, that the government and the legislature could start deliberation of bills on the election system and composition of the DPD, the regional legislative council (DPRD), and the DPR.

He said that there were two bills on the election system: One was being prepared by the Home Ministry's team and the second was being jointly outlined by the House and the University of Indonesia.

Zein said that the lawmakers would immediately deal with the one that was submitted first for deliberation and treat the other as supplementary input.