House pressured to make trustworthy election law

House pressured to make trustworthy election law

Edith Hartanto and Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As public skepticism runs high, pressure is mounting for
legislators to produce a sound election law as a prerequisite to
a democratic general election in 2004.

Observers here said on Wednesday that the public feel
legislators ignore their constituents and spend most of their
time involved in political bickering.

"In the 1999 General Election, people condoned flaws more
readily such as the imperfect election law because of the
emergency situation," Roberto Hutabarat, a program officer at the
Asia Foundation told The Jakarta Post referring to the fall of
president Soeharto.

The Asia Foundation was a facilitator for poll observers in
the 1999 election.

Among the flaws were that people chose political parties under
a proportional system, that there were unrealistically small
election campaign funds and because the General Election
Committee (KPU) was less than independent.

Voters now have to vote for individuals rather than political
parties and interaction between voters and their candidates has
intensified, Roberto said.

People are more skeptical now because things have not improved
over the past three years, he added.

Roberto and his colleagues Wandy Tuturoong and Adi Abidin of
the same foundation were interviewed by the Post on the election
bill.

The 1999 election, dubbed the most democratic for the past
four decades, was prepared in less than six months and Election
Law No. 3/1999 was deliberated in just three months.

"Due to the time constraint, many poll organizers were
ignorant about the technicalities of conducting an election,"
Wandy, a colleague of Roberto, said.

Now that the timeline is more permissive, there is an
opportunity to introduce the bill to the public and obtain
feedback.

Legislators have to convince the people by making a sound
election bill to ensure a better election in 2004, said Adi.

"People today simply don't trust lawmakers anymore. The level
of high trust in 1999 has now hit rock bottom," Adi added.

The only way to gain public trust and to shape up a quality
legislature via the next 2004 poll is by involving public
participation in the deliberation of the ongoing election bill,
he added.

Legislators have to start going around the country and
introducing the election bill to provinces and regencies in a bid
to get feedback from non-governmental organizations, local
figures and independent electoral observers, he said.

"That way the public will be involved right from the beginning
and they will be able to complain about the bill before it is
already endorsed," Wandy said.

The public will feel that they are part of the election
process, and that it is not only for a bunch of elite
politicians, Adi said.

Wandy urged legislators to ensure the insertion of an
autonomous KPU in the bill.

"KPU has to become an autonomous body like the Ombudsman
Commission or the National Commission on Human Rights, which
directly reports to the president," Wandy said.

There is no need for KPU to be attached to the Ministry of
Home Affairs because the commission is the sole organizer of the
election, he said.

During Soeharto's years, the organization of elections was
overseen by the Ministry of Home Affairs through governors in
provinces right down to the village heads, he said.

"So what would KPU need the ministry for? It is better for KPU
to have a direct link to the Ministry of Finance, which would
provide funding for the commission but would not intervene in
KPU's policies," Wandy added.