Fate of crucial bills depends on amendment process

Fate of crucial bills depends on amendment process

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The fate of several crucial bills, including political bills,
that will determine whether or not the reform movement will
continue, is hanging in the balance pending the outcome of the
constitutional amendments being discussed at the Annual Session
of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

Two of the bills considered as the most important bills, one
on general elections and another on political parties, are
scheduled for endorsement in November this year.

The bill on general elections also covers a much discussed
item, namely direct presidential elections. A deadlock in the
amendment process regarding Article 6 on presidential elections,
for example, will result in the next general election, scheduled
for 2004, being postponed.

According to Article 6 of the 1945 Constitution, the president
and vice president are elected by the MPR. The amended article
(Article 6A in the third phase of the amendment) states, among
other things, that the president and vice president are elected
in a direct election by the people.

However, if the fourth amendment is endorsed, the election of
members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Regional
Representatives Council (DPD) scheduled for 2003 and the direct
presidential elections in 2004 could be conducted.

The bill on general elections, which will replace the current
Law No. 3/1999, is also expected to pave way for the
establishment of an independent General Elections Commission
(KPU).

Although the current KPU comprises several independent
members, it is not considered independent due to the fact that
its secretary-general and vice secretary-general are under the
Ministry of Home Affairs, who proposes the secretary-general and
vice secretary-general. Both are appointed by the President,
rousing suspicion of possible government interference in the
election process.

Several KPU members, mostly university lecturers, had earlier
threatened to quit in protest of a requirement in the bill, which
states that KPU members should be held responsible for the
commission's budget which is decided and managed by the
secretary-general.

The 1999 general election cost Rp 1.5 trillion (US166
million). KPU has proposed a Rp 3 trillion budget for the next
general election.

KPU members also warned that if the election bill could not be
passed in November, they would not be able to make any proper
preparations for the next general election, including preparing
independent election commissions across the country.

Besides the election bill, the other most important bill which
should be passed in November is the bill on political parties
which will replace Law No. 2/1999. If passed, the bill include
the screening of political parties eligible for participation in
general elections and will automatically reduce the number of
political parties, from the over 200 political parties currently
registered with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

The bill requires that a party has branches in at least two-
thirds of the country's 30 provinces, and in two-thirds of the
number of regencies or cities in one province.

It also stipulates that election participants have at least
1,000 members in each of its branches.

Under the current law, political parties only need branches in
half the number of provinces and half the number of regencies or
cities in one province.

Many political analysts have predicted that the next general
election will be contested by only 10 parties, including the
current parties at the House of Representatives that have secured
at least 2 percent of the House's 500 seats.