Independent figures may have chance for presidency

Independent figures may have chance for presidency

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Constitutional Commission has proposed an amendment to the
Constitution that would allow non-partisan candidates a chance to
run for the presidency.

The commission's deputy chairman Albert Hasibuan said on
Tuesday its 31-strong team of experts had supported the proposal,
which had been demanded by non-governmental organizations during
the deliberation of the presidential election bill in 2002.

"Details of the technicalities and requirements will be set
out in separate legislation," Albert, a former member of the
National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), told the press
after an internal meeting here on Tuesday.

The proposal looks certain to face strong opposition from the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the institution to which
the commission is accountable.

Article 6 of the Constitution says presidential and vice
presidential candidates must be nominated by a political party or
a coalition of political parties.

The stipulation has been widely criticized for denying non-
partisan and independent candidates the chance to run, despite
the fact that the parties are widely distrusted by the public.

M. Fadjrul Falaakh, another commission member, said giving
independent candidates the chance to run would strengthen
democracy and the presidential system itself.

Albert and Fadjrul said, however, that strict requirements
would be needed so as to limit the number of people nominating
themselves as presidential candidates.

Apart from accepting the idea of opening up the presidential
contest, the commission members also agreed to encourage a one-
round presidential election.

"We need to have a one-round presidential election to save
money and energy," said Fadjrul, a legal science expert from
Gadjah Mada University (UGM).

The current legislation requires a presidential candidate and
his/her running mate to gain more than fifty percent of the votes
to be elected president and vice president respectively.

If no candidate wins more than fifty percent of the votes in
the first round of the election, a second-round election will be
held to determine which of the two frontrunners will be elected
president.

Fadjrul said that the current system could be simplified by
asking voters to list their preferences on their ballot papers.

Aside from voting for their first choice candidates, the
public would also be asked to list the other candidates in their
order of preference, starting with their No. 1 choice.

"By adopting this system, we would be sure to get a president
based on a one-round election. This would save a lot of money and
energy," said Fadjrul.

The commission is primarily tasked with reviewing the amended
Constitution, and is expected to submit its final report to the
MPR next month.