KPI wants more say in campaign rules
KPI wants more say in campaign rules
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) demanded on Tuesday
that it be given greater authority in drawing up regulations
pertaining to advertisements and announcements placed by
political parties in the electronic media to enable the
institution to deal with media-related election campaign
violations.
KPI chairman Victor Menayang said that in the midst of
mounting violations of regulations sanctioning advertising for
this year's legislative and presidential elections, the
commission only played a peripheral role.
"We were invited to be involved in regulating the election
campaign only after scores of non-governmental organizations
endorsed our role in (monitoring) the election in a meeting with
the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the General Elections
Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu)," Victor told a seminar
organized by the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU
EOM) here.
Victor said that despite the inclusion the KPI could do
nothing to tackle violations of media campaign regulations.
"In past elections, everybody in the country and the world
knew there were violations of laws regarding advertising, but
many cases escaped the law because of no clear definition," he
said.
He said that neither the Elections Law nor Law No. 32/2002 on
broadcasting stated the role of the KPI in the polls.
"The Broadcasting Law on which the KPI was founded is not
specific about political advertisements. The only article that
can be used as a foundation in our role in elections is one that
gives the KPI authority to set broadcasting program standards and
code of conduct," he said.
The EU EOM said in its final report that although the media
had played an important role in educating voters, it however
showed a certain degree of bias in favor of certain electoral
participant, especially in the direct presidential election.
It said that a state television station, a best-selling
national newspaper and a Jakarta-based radio station with a
network reaching remote regions had shown a tendency to side with
particular presidential candidates.
In its recommendation, the EU EOM said that the KPI should
have the authority and the means to effectively regulate
electronic media activity during elections.
In a country where reading is not the primary way of getting
information, the electronic media is deemed the most effective
tool for political candidates to deliver their messages.
During the 2004 presidential election, candidates effectively
used the electronic media to promote themselves, as indicated by
the large amount of money spent to buy spots on TV.
The Jakarta Post's chief editor Endy Bayuni said that the
media had played an indispensable role in bringing Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono to the presidency.
"After his resignation from the administration of former
president Megawati Soekarnoputri earlier this year, Susilo
continued to remain in the public eye all the time, thanks to the
media which gave him sustained coverage so that he could reach
out to voters," he said.
He also said that the media played an important role in
educating voters. "Most importantly, we help voters make rational
and informed choices," he said.