Independent commission still being sought
Independent commission still being sought
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Dozens of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) criticized on
Thursday the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) for its
reluctance to establish an independent constitutional commission
tasked to amend the Constitution.
The organizations, grouped in the NGOs Coalition for New
Constitution, said although all factions in the Assembly realized
the importance of the commission, they were still reluctant to
meet the public demand.
"We believe that the Assembly's Annual Session is the moment
to make a decision in the establishment of the independent
constitutional commission ... We hope that the Assembly will make
the future of the nation their priority," said a statement read
during a press conference on Thursday.
Major parties in the Assembly have agreed to the formation of
the constitutional commission. But this issue is not included in
drafts of decisions prepared for the Annual Session taking place
from Nov. 1 to Nov. 10.
In the statement, read by Binny Buchori of the International
NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (Infid), the coalition
stressed the need for a comprehensive reform of the 1945
Constitution.
The coalition said that a constitutional amendment carried out
by the Assembly's ad hoc committee would not be able to
accommodate participation by the people.
"This means the Constitution will only be understood by the
elite group, not by the people," it said, adding that the failure
to create the commission would only prolong constitutional crisis
which may cause continuous political conflict.
Meanwhile, Hadar N. Gumay of the Center for Electoral Reform
(Cetro), stressed that a direct presidential electoral system,
agreed to by all Assembly factions, still raised questions.
"We still do not know what kind of system. If the two-stage
electoral system is still used, in this current political
condition, our next president will be elected again by the
Assembly not directly by the people," said Hadar.
With the two-level election system, if a winning candidate
cannot collect 50+1 percent of votes, the president would be
decided by the Assembly.
"It is unlikely now that a candidate will win 50+1 percent
votes based on experience in the latest general elections,"
according to Hadar.
The coalition members among others include Cetro, Infid, the
Research Institute and People Advocacy (Elsam), the Indonesian
Corruption Watch (ICW), the Independent Journalist Association
(AJI) and the Institute for Social Engineering (INSE).