Electoral laws cannot be sped up: Government

Electoral laws cannot be sped up: Government

Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government has rejected a demand by the General Election
Commission that it speed up the drafting of key political laws,
saying only the bills will be ready by the end of the year.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said after a limited Cabinet meeting on
Tuesday that the government intended to finalize the bills
promptly.

But he said the laws could not be drafted until the People's
Consultative Assembly finalized constitutional amendments to the
presidential election and legislative systems, during its annual
session in August.

"After there is a certainty of the constitutional amendment in
the MPR annual session in August or November, the drafts of the
political law must soon be deliberated," Susilo said.

The draft laws, which will cover electoral processes,
political parties and the composition of legislative bodies, were
debated at the Cabinet meeting, presided over by President
Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Members of the election commission last week met with Vice
President Hamzah Haz to express their concerns about the laws
being delayed. They told the Vice President the 2004 general
elections may be unable to proceed on time unless the laws were
finalized soon.

Election commission members have repeatedly complained that
the delay is preventing the commission doing its job.

They say the commission needs at least two years to properly
prepare for an election, so the bills should be endorsed before
June this year.

Susilo said, however, there were still many technicalities in
the drafts to be debated between the House factions, such as the
prerequisite for a political party to contest the general
election, and whether the country would adopt a direct
presidential election.

The government has held some informal meetings with the
faction leaders but few compromises have been reached, Susilo
said.

He insisted the government was determined to have the legal
framework for the 2004 election endorsed at least a year before
the poll, to give the commission enough time to prepare.

Reiterating Susilo's statement, Justice and Human Rights
Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said several departments were
involved in preparing the laws.

"We hope that the drafts can be finalized by the end of 2002,"
Yusril said.

The limited Cabinet meeting, which was held at the State
Palace, was also attended by Vice President Hamzah Haz, Home
Affairs Minister Hari Sabarno, Defense Minister Matori Abdul
Djalil and Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Adm. Widodo A.S.

Indonesia has held eight general elections in its 56-year-old
history.