KPU to start voter education for new form of elections

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has deliberated on 13 articles of the 1945 Constitution as part of the fourth batch of amendments. One of the amended articles is Article 6A, in response to demands for direct presidential elections. The institution directly involved in preparations will be the General Elections Committee (KPU), whose chairman Nazaruddin Syamsudin spoke with The Jakarta Post's Soeryo Winoto.

Question: The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Annual Session is now over and one of the contentious issues of direct presidential elections has been agreed upon. Does the KPU have any special programs to prepare the public for the 2004 General Elections, including the direct presidential election?

Answer: Frankly speaking, we have not prepared anything for the coming election and the direct presidential election, which is so far included in the additional chapter in the current General Elections bill. We see nothing especially difficult about holding a presidential election. We are experienced in arranging and holding general elections. We still have the human resources at all levels and we still have the equipment and paraphernalia for general elections.

What we have done in the past (1999) was to organize the election where people voted for their representatives (indirectly by choosing political parties) for central government, provincial and regency/mayoralty posts. We provided three ballot boxes; in the next election we will need more boxes for the Regional Representatives Councils (DPD).

The voters' registration process may be a little bit different, while the process will likely be the same as the previous election. For the direct presidential election we just need to know if it will be conducted separately or together with the General Elections.

What about the bills and other rulings which will become the legal basis for the direct presidential election?

It is the House of Representatives (DPR) which is in charge of the legal infrastructure. We are waiting, however, we would like all the bills for the direct presidential election to be completed by October of this year. There also must be a clear decision on how the presidential election will be conducted. Will it be conducted separately or together with the General Elections?

Why?

In 1999, people voted for legislative representatives at the central government, provincial and regency/mayoralty levels. Now they (the people) will vote for an executive (a President). Therefore, the target is different. If the executive and legislative elections are jointly held, voters will get confused. They may wonder what the relation is between the party and the presidential candidates. It will be very possible that the voters would cast a ballot for a certain political party but also want to vote for a presidential candidate from another party. There must be a clear distinction.

Would the KPU have to spend special time to inform and "instruct" people about the direct presidential election?

Yes, sure. We will launch a campaign starting early next year. We will conduct voter education. They (the voters) must be adequately informed about the legislative representatives at all levels they will vote for, including representatives of the DPD. They should also know why they directly elect a president and how they would do that. People must also be informed about the essence of general elections and why they should cast ballots. We will use all kinds of media to support the programs.

Do you think the KPU will have enough time to do that?

One year will likely be enough to educate the voters, before we conduct the elections in 2004.

What would be the constraints for the KPU to carry out this national agenda?

Funds. Funding is my only concern.

What would be the amount of money needed for the direct presidential election?

The additional amount will probably be some 5 percent of the whole sum needed for the general elections (a KPU member has estimated a sum of Rp 2.3 trillion needed for general elections).

You sound confident about the KPU's ability to get all of this done on schedule.

If the legislature completes all the bills on schedule, the next concern is money. If the government has money, things will run smoothly. Based on the existing schedule, the General Election will take place in June 2004. With the existing information system (on elections), the public should know the overall results about seven days after elections, except for, maybe, results from the remote areas like the hinterlands of Irian Jaya (Papua). In July 2004, the first round of presidential elections could start and the second round (if no candidate wins a majority of votes) could take place in August. Hopefully, a new president will be ready by October 2004.