Local direct elections may be delayed: Minister

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The central government has agreed to delay the first direct elections of regional administration chiefs as some remote areas may need more time to prepare election materials.

Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf said on Friday that regional elections may be held in July instead of June.

Some regions may also need more time to consult with local lawmakers to adjust their administration budget to help finance elections, he added.

"Preparing materials will take some time because we must adhere to the law, which demands each region to hold an open bidding to procure materials. Plus more time will be needed to distribute materials to remote regions," Ma'ruf said after meeting regional administration leaders to discuss preparations for the upcoming elections.

Some regions previously demanded that the government delay regional elections due to the central government's tardiness in finalizing the election regulation. The ruling was issued last week, leaving little time for some regions to make the necessary preparations.

A plan to immediately set up provincial and regental offices of the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) was also discussed at Friday's meeting. Ma'ruf also said it was decided that voter registration would close on Feb. 28.

Various regions in the country will hold elections to select regional administration leaders, including governors, regents and mayors to replace the 226 whose terms end soon.

The direct election system is new to the country and is aimed at promoting democracy.

Meanwhile, some regions have expressed concern over the limited budget provided by the central government to fund the elections, saying that under such conditions they would be forced to review their 2005 administration budgets and allocate extra funds for the elections.

"We have decided to allocate Rp 1.25 trillion (US$135.87 million) from the state budget for regions nationwide, but we have yet to calculate how much will be disbursed to each as we must consult lawmakers about it," Ma'ruf said, adding that his ministry was slated to hold a consultative meeting with the House of Representatives next week.

The government is also waiting for a decision by the Constitutional Court, which is reviewing several contentious articles of Law No. 32/2004 on regional governments. The law contains articles on how regional elections should be conducted.

The review request was filed by a number of non-governmental organizations and Provincial General Elections Commission (KPUD) offices after realizing the law failed "to ensure principles of fairness and impartiality during and after the elections".

Ma'ruf, however, said the government would continue with its plan to hold direct regional elections unless the court decided that the law should be revised.