KPU defends seat allocations

JAKARTA: The General Elections Commission (KPU) defended on Tuesday its allocation of legislative seats for provinces, saying the decisions were in line with the elections law.

KPU chairman Nazaruddin Syamsuddin said the commission was granted the privilege of deciding the allocation of legislative seats according to the elections law.

Nazaruddin was responding to suggestions from members of the House of Representatives that Maluku, Papua and North Sulawesi were not allocated sufficient numbers of seats in the 2004 elections.

The KPU allocated six seats to Maluku, 13 to Papua and seven to North Sulawesi in the 1999 elections. But for the 2004 polls, the KPU has reduced the seat allocations to three, 10 and six, respectively.

Nazaruddin said if the KPU gave the three provinces the same number of seats in 2004 as in 1999, the number of seats in the House would increase from the proposed 550 to 557. -- Antara