KPU to disburse funds to regions next Tuesday

KPU to disburse funds to regions next Tuesday

Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The General Elections Commission (KPU) promised on Tuesday to
begin disbursing funds for the general election to all of the
country's provinces, regencies and municipalities by next Monday.

KPU secretary Safder Yusaac said on Tuesday that Rp 98.46
billion (US$11.06 million) had been channeled to the KPU from the
state budget. The money will be used to finance the operations of
the regional elections commissions or KPUDs.

"The amount (that will be disbursed) varies for each province,
regency and municipality according to size, population and access
to transportation," he said.

He said that if the money disbursed by the KPU proved
insufficient to finance the operations of a KPUD, the additional
money would have to come from the budget of the concerned region.

"For example, we have budgeted enough money so each province
can purchase one operational car and two operational motorcycles.

"If a province needs an additional car, the money will have to
come from the regional budget," he said.

Yusaac said the commission also would enclose directives on
regulating the fund disbursement.

According to the KPU, the disbursed funds will cover the
salary of KPUD staff members, equipment and utility costs,
transportation and other expenses.

Many regional administrations had complained that they had yet
to receive funding for the KPUDs, saying that they were being
forced to use their regional budgets to cover the operational
costs of the commissions.

"There is a good possibility that the funds for the regional
KPUDs will not be sufficient to cover all of the operational
costs. Therefore, we will ask the regional administrations to use
their budgets to complement the state budget," Yusaac said.

East Java is due to receive the most money from the KPU with
Rp 7.73 billion, followed by Central Java with Rp 7.11 billion
and Papua with Rp 6.61 billion.

The provinces that will receive the least amount of money are
Yogyakarta with Rp 1.25 billion, Gorontalo with Rp 1.32 billion
and Jakarta with Rp 1.34 billion.

The KPU is preparing to organize Indonesia's first ever direct
elections, with the general election on April 5, 2004, followed
by the two-phased presidential election between June and August
of the same year.

In other matters, the KPU began registering candidates for a
supervisory committee on Tuesday, with 190 people displaying an
interest in joining the committee.

"From that number, some 90 people are community members, 86
are academics and 14 are members of the press," said Aminsyah, a
registration official.

The supervisory committee will monitor the general election
during every step of the process, including the ballot counting.

The KPU will appoint nine people to the central supervisory
committee. The appointees will be police officers, attorneys,
academics, journalists and community members.

To be appointed to the supervisory committee a person must be
at least 27 years old, understand the mechanisms of the general
election and not be a member of any political party.

The KPU plans to screen and elect members of the supervisory
committee at the central level on April 19, the provincial level
on May 13, the regency and municipal level on June 5, and the
district level on June 20.

Among those who have registered as candidates for the
supervisory committee are political analysts Fachri Ali and Laode
Ida, and former KPU member Rasyidi.