House factions question KPU's independence

House factions question KPU's independence

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

Deliberation of the much-awaited election bill got into full
swing on Monday, with some factions in the House of
Representatives questioning the independence of the General
Elections Commission (KPU).

Unlike the draft bill proposed by the government, the factions
suggested the KPU Secretariat not be put under the control of the
home ministry.

"If the KPU secretary-general is a civil servant, we certainly
will not be able to say the commission is an independent body,"
the spokesman for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI Perjuangan) faction, Firman Jaya Daeli, said during a
hearing with Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno.

He was commenting on the rulings proposed by the government
that would place the KPU under the control of the home ministry.

Article 67, Paragraph 1, of the elections bill stipulates that
in its daily tasks, the KPU will be assisted by a secretariat
which is a government agency.

Paragraph 5 says that the secretary-general of the KPU will be
a civil servant.

Fellow legislator Ali Masykur Musa of the National Awakening
Party (PKB) emphasized that the KPU must not be a government
agency, but a state institution.

"We want the secretariat to be a part of the KPU itself. The
KPU is not a government agency, but a state institution. We will
discuss this matter later," Ali said.

The Coalition for Political Laws has repeatedly criticized the
rulings set out in the elections bill. The coalition suggested
the KPU secretariat should not be a government agency, but an
independent body.

The stipulation that the KPU is a government agency
contradicts Article 64 of the bill, which state that the KPU is
an independent body.

The independence of the KPU is important because the
commission will be responsible for organizing elections at all
levels of administration, from urban areas to remote villages.

The House is also deliberating the political party bill, which
along with the elections bill has to be endorsed by the end of
this year to ensure the 2004 general election takes place as
scheduled.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian chapter of the Berlin-based
Transparency International (TI-Indonesia) suggested the House
revise both the election and political party bills, particularly
the articles on political funds, to ensure a more credible
general election.

TI-Indonesia secretary-general Emmy Hafild said the bills
should impose limits on which private companies and capital
owners can donate to political parties and campaigns.

"Private companies which organize public funds, such as banks,
and insurance companies, as well as state-owned enterprises and
companies whose businesses concern public needs, should be
excluded because such companies are dependent on the
government's policies and the legislature's legal products."

Emmy said the list of excluded companies should include those
companies in the forestry, mining, oil and gas, and water supply
sectors, as well as companies in debt and companies whose debt is
being handled by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.

The watchdog also called for a separation of political
parties' financial reports and their campaign funds, and for an
independent audit of campaign funds in a bid to uphold
transparency.