Experts warn of dealing on amendments
Experts warn of dealing on amendments
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As the Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly
draws near, experts are warning of possible backroom dealing by
politicians seeking to smooth the way for amendments to the 1945
Constitution.
The two largest factions in the Assembly, the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle and the Golkar Party, already have
tacitly agreed to resolve their differences on the two most
crucial issues surrounding the amendments -- the composition of
the Assembly and the system for the presidential election.
The factions also appear to have reached an agreement to
retain nonelected representatives of the military and the police
in the legislature until 2009.
Sri Soemantri, a constitutional law expert from Bandung-based
Padjadjaran University, slammed such backroom dealing between the
Assembly factions, saying it would ultimately damage the
substance of the Constitution.
"Those factions should see the importance of the Constitution
as the basic law for the long-term life of this nation and
country, and not as a project involving political interests," he
told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Soemantri said legislators should not bargain over the
principles of the reform movement, which among other things
demands direct presidential elections and an end to nonelected
seats in the legislature.
Hadar N. Gumay from the Center for Electoral Reform agreed,
saying the country should abandon all forms of nonelected
representation, which he said undermined democracy.
Non-party groups such as the Indonesian Military could still
play an important role from outside the legislature, by providing
elected representatives with their opinions, suggestions and
criticisms.
"This is more effective. Many developed countries like the
United States have done this. The main point is the aspirations
(of these groups) are still heard and accommodated by political
parties," he told the Post.
The Assembly's ad hoc committee on the constitutional
amendments is slated to meet on Monday to debate a supplementary
article that would grant seats in the legislature to the military
and the police until 2009.
The feeling among politicians on the committee is that they
would prefer to retain the military and police's seats in the
Assembly through the supplementary article, according to Ali
Masykur Musa of the National Awakening Party (PKB).
Ali, the secretary of the ad hoc committee, nevertheless said
the committee members would likely reach deals on the composition
of the Assembly and the system of presidential elections.
As for the composition of the Assembly, the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) is likely to
compromise and accept a proposal from Golkar and the PKB -- that
the Assembly will consist of legislators from the House of
Representatives and the Regional Representatives Council.
This means that all members of the House and the Assembly
would be elected through general elections.
As for presidential elections, Golkar and other factions
appear ready to go along with PDI Perjuangan's proposal that if
no candidate wins in a direct election, the second round of the
presidential election would be carried out by the Assembly.
Both Soemantri and Hadar criticized this proposed system,
saying the people, not the Assembly, must be the ones to elect
their leaders.
"If the election is held in the Assembly, as suggested by PDI
Perjuangan, then it is not a direct election," Soemantri
remarked.
Hadar added that should no presidential candidate secure the
required number of votes, the top two vote-getters should go
forward into a run-off election.
He said that holding a run-off presidential election would not
be as expensive as holding the first round, at about 30 percent
to 80 percent of the cost.