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."