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)