Four hundred sign up for KPUD
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
As the candidate registration period for the Regional General Elections Commission (KPUD) in Jakarta drew to a close on Monday, more than 400 people had signed up for the possibility of overseeing the elections in the city.
A five-person team appointed by Governor Sutiyoso will select 10 people from these 400 candidates and the General Elections Commission (KPU) will winnow this number down to five, who will then be given the responsibility of running the general election in Jakarta.
The process of selecting the members of the Jakarta KPUD is expected to be completed by late May.
The five-person team appointed by Sutiyoso comprises: Syafi'i Maarif (lecturer), Arif Rahman Hakim (lecturer), Nursyiah Motik (doctor), Gemala Rabiah Hatta (lecturer) and Thamrin Ekadjati (city official).
The secretary of the Jakarta KPUD, Ismet Hasan, said the large number of candidates showed that the public misunderstood the requirements for membership on the commission.
He said the public seemed to regard becoming a members of the KPUD as just another job opportunity.
"The candidates apparently liken the selection process to that for an ordinary job," he told The Jakarta Post.
He was quick to add that this misapprehension reflected a general lack of understanding about the general election process.
"In fact, membership on the KPUD is only for those who have the intellectual capacity and possess knowledge of political issues, because they will play an important role in building a good relationship between local lawmakers and the city administration," he said.
Hasan also said the KPUD candidates should not be members of any political party.
Many of the candidates did not come close to meeting the requirements set by the KPU, Yayat, a staff member at the Jakarta KPUD secretariat, told the Post.
"As far as I am concerned, many of those who have applied were just unemployed and in need of a job," he said.
One candidate, who wished to remain anonymous, said he applied because of the generous stipend provided by the KPU.
"I heard that the salary for a member of a local elections commission during the 1999 general election was about Rp 15 million (US$1,600). I assume that the amount will be about the same for the upcoming elections," he said.
Another applicant, who also wished to remain anonymous, said he was in fact a member of a recently established political party.
"But I had to conceal that fact because my membership in the party would bar me from the commission," he said.
He said one of the reasons he was applying for a position with KPUD was that he had experience from past general elections.
Among the others queuing up for application forms were two urban activists, Azas Tigor Nainggolan from the Jakarta Citizens Forum and Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute.