Fair selection of KPU candidates called for
JAKARTA (JP): An alliance of 12 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) called on the House of Representatives on Wednesday to maintain transparency and fairness in selecting candidates for the next General Elections Committee (KPU).
"The House should seek input from numerous independent societal groups before selecting the 22 candidates," Smita Notosusanto, a spokesman for the NGOs, said, referring to the 22 candidates proposed by the government.
She said the House should first set the criteria before carrying out with the fit and proper tests.
"The House should have a moral obligation to drop candidates who do not meet the criteria and cannot pass the fit and proper test," she said.
The twelve NGOs, including the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro), the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), Solidarity for Women, Environmental Forum (Walhi) and the Indonesian Election Supervisory Committee (KIPP), said they were concerned with the government's lack of transparency in selecting the 60 names proposed by numerous social and political organizations.
They said the lack of transparency in the selection by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy had lessened public support for the candidates.
Leopold Sudaryono of KIPP said the House should only endorse candidates who are independent, physically and mentally healthy, and strongly committed to democracy and social justice.
"Candidates should never have been involved in human rights abuses or any other crimes.
"They are not officials of any political party in the past five years and are ready to have their wealth audited," he said.
Teten Masduki, ICW coordinator, said the commission's next composition would certainly influence the quality of general elections in the future and therefore the quality of democracy in the future.
"Last year's controversial general election which was marked by vote rigging and widespread procedural violations by election participants must be a good lesson for all of us (nation)," he said
Leopold said the NGOs were conducting their own evaluation of the 22 candidates, most of whom had failed to meet the criteria established by the NGOs.
"If the House adopts our criteria, most candidates will be dropped," he said, explaining that the results of the NGOs' candidate evaluations would be announced to the public days before the fit-and-proper test, which is scheduled for Oct. 23.
Among the 22 candidates proposed by the government were Anas Urbaningrum, former chairman of the Indonesian Islamic Student Association (HMI), KIPP chairman Mulyana W. Kusumah, Catholic priest and intellectual, Mudji Sutrisno, chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI) Hendardi, and chairman of the Indonesian Youth Committee (KNPI) Adhyaksa.
Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, chairman of House Commission II on Home and Legal Affairs, which has been assigned to handle the selection, said his commission might not conduct a fit-and-proper test, but hold a dialog with the candidates to ensure their commitment to the commission's vision and mission.
"The candidates's track record should not be a subject of questioning because they are from independent organizations," he said.
He added that the candidates must have met the criteria set by the NGOs. (rms)