General Election Commission reaffirms independence pledge
General Election Commission reaffirms independence pledge
JAKARTA (JP): The 11 newly-sworn-in members of the General
Election Commission (KPU) are committed to restoring the
institution's image and independence, elected chairman Nazaruddin
Sjamsuddin said on Wednesday.
"All new KPU members sworn-in by President Abdurrahman Wahid
on March 28, 2001, are committed to building the institution's
good image and independence. The institution must make a complete
break with the past," he told a media conference here.
He said that the commission would comply with the law and be
open to advice and criticism from the public in order to improve
its performance.
Nazaruddin, also a professor of political science at the
University of Indonesia, ruled out any possibility of confusion
in the commission's leadership because it would no longer fall
under the auspices of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Regional
Autonomy.
"The election commission will be in full control of its
secretariat and will prevent other parties from meddling with its
internal affairs and its electoral duties," he said.
Ramlan Surbakti, deputy chairman of the election commission,
predicted it would take the election commission two years to
prepare a free, fair and accountable general election.
"In a state of emergency, KPU is principally ready to organize
an expedited general election, but we will be unable to obtain
optimum results," he said.
He said it would need three months to conduct an internal
revamp in the commission's organization and set up provincial
offices.
"The commission will spend more time to educate people on
elections, to register eligible voters and political parties and
make technical preparations for the elections," he said.
He said the KPU new members would serve until 2006, but did
not know how much they would be paid every month.
Asked about the ideal system for the next general election,
Ramlan, also a professor of political science at the Airlangga
University in Surabaya, said it would depend on the people and
their representatives in the House of Representatives.
"If the people want to have legitimate and accountable
representatives in the parliament, it is better to adopt the
district system in the next election. It is better to maintain
the proportional system if the House wants to shortlist the
political parties," he said.
He said the future electoral system would also depend on the
revision of the bill on general elections being deliberated by
the House.
Asked about violations by political parties in the 1999
elections, Ramlan said that the court was still trying 24 cases,
with many more cases still untouched.
"The National Police and the Supreme Court should be proactive
in tackling around 24,000 violations committed by parties
contesting the last polls," he said. (rms)