Local direct elections may be delayed: Minister
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.