Legislators' retreat fails to bridge gap on election bill

Legislators' retreat fails to bridge gap on election bill

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For legislators, having a meeting at a relaxed seaside hotel
in Ancol, North Jakarta, is not a guarantee that they would work
faster. On the contrary, they could not solve perhaps the most
important issue currently on the agenda -- the general election
bill.

Having stayed at Hotel Horison since Monday, 20 legislators
and 15 government officials have only managed to fine tune a few
articles which had already been agreed upon in previous debates.

Director General of the General Administration at the Ministry
of Home Affairs Progo Nurzaman said that the burning issues such
as the electoral system and campaigning would be resolved through
"lobbying outside the hotel".

"Tonight (Thursday night), we will still concentrate on
drafting the easy problems and we will save those issues which
may hinder a smooth process of deliberations next week," Nurzaman
said

The contentious issues include the proportional election
system, general election requirements for political parties and
campaigning by public officials.

The meeting in Ancol is funded by the Ministry of Home
Affairs. It is not immediately clear, however, of the amount. One
thing is clear: The hotel rates vary from Rp 423,500 (US$47) to
Rp 6.6 million per night.

The meeting in Ancol, however, is not the first for
legislators deliberating on the election bill. Previously, they
had meetings at the Menara Peninsula Hotel in Slipi, West
Jakarta, and in Hotel Salak in Bogor, West Java.

Critics have blasted the legislators for holding meetings
outside the House, saying that such meetings only wasted
taxpayers' money.

Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, deputy chairman of the House's Special
Committee on the general elections bill, defended the meetings
outside the House, saying that legislators involved could spend
more time in meetings.

Those attending the one in Ancol, for instance, sit in meeting
rooms for up to 12 hours a day, starting from 9 a.m. through as
late as midnight.

"The people want a good law, but they also criticize meetings
outside the House which actually we need in order to expedite the
deliberation," Ferry moaned.

Ferry, however, also could not guarantee the meeting in
Horison hotel would resolve all the differences among political
parties, especially on contentious issues.

"We'll try hard to resolve it here, but if it fails there are
still other forums to resolve it like through a working group,
the special committee and through voting at the House's plenary
session."