Makeup of election body revealed

JAKARTA (JP): The government's five seats on the soon-to-be- established National Election Committee will represent the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Armed Forces, the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General, according to Minister of Home Affairs Syarwan Hamid on Wednesday.

Provincial and regency election committees will also have the same composition, he added after addressing a meeting with the country's 27 provincial governors.

The names of the representatives will be immediately forwarded to President B.J. Habibie for approval, the Director General of Public Administration and Regional Autonomy of the home affairs ministry, Ryaas Rasyid said. The officials declined to name the officials.

The ministry's Secretary-General Feisal Tamin declined to comment when asked whether he would be on the committee.

Ryaas said further there would be two officials from his ministry, and one each from the other institutions.

Syarwan, also chairman of the General Elections Institution (LPU) is set to hand over tasks to the independent National Election Committee on March 1. In previous elections the minister of home affairs and other officials and their subordinates sat on all committees, national or regional.

Among other things the minister had told the governors they were to refrain from abusing power and not side with any particular political party in the upcoming elections.

"We should not repeat the mistakes of the past."

Separately in a discussion on social revolution here secretary general of the National Mandate Party (PAN) Faisal Basri said he was informed that Feisal would be among the committee members, together with a member of the government's team which drafted the political bills. He demanded that government officials on the committee should not be allowed to dominate the process.

"The formation of the 'Team of Eleven' (preparing groundwork for the committee) is already fair and independent; why don't they do the same thing for the committee?" Faisal said.

The new law on elections only states that the committee comprises five government representatives and one representative of each political party contesting the elections, slated for June 7.

While the law states that the government representatives have equal voting weight to the parties, whose fixed number is yet to be determined, Syarwan has assured critics that the officials would remain neutral.

Separately at the National Elections Institute, a representative of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems was quoted as saying the above chapter could reduce the committee's independence.

A member of the Team of Eleven, Kastorius Sinaga, who quoted the representative, said the team was doing its best to make sure the committee would be independent.

Among other things it would discuss with the government the possibility of having its members sit on the committee, he said. (rms/edt/01)