Mega, Hamzah likely to miss election campaigns
Mega, Hamzah likely to miss election campaigns
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz
are unlikely to hit the 2004 campaign trail as the government and
legislators deliberating the election bill have agreed in
principle to ban state officials from election campaigns.
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said on Monday that the
restriction was designed to avoid conflicting interests among
political leaders in public office.
"This is designed to dodge conflicting interests, namely those
of political leaders and state officials," Hari said in a working
meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) special committee
deliberating the election bill on Monday.
The final decision, however, will be discussed further with
the working committee.
The working committee will also decide whether the House
speaker and chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR),
the country's highest law-making body, were also considered to be
state officials. If the committee declares Akbar Tandjung and
Amien Rais as state officials, they will also be banned from
campaigning in the 2004 election.
Megawati, Hamzah, Akbar and Amien have all indicated their
willingness to run for the presidential post in the upcoming
elections.
The election bill, drafted by the Ministry of Home Affairs,
stipulates that state officials, such as the president, vice
president, chief justice, chairmen of the Supreme Advisory
Council (DPA) and the State Audit Agency (BPK) as well as Cabinet
ministers, were not allowed to campaign during a general
election.
It also bans the Bank Indonesia governor and his or her
deputies, provincial governors, regents and mayors, village heads
and directors of state enterprises from campaigning.
During the working meeting, Megawati's Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) strongly opposed the
restriction and called for a revision of the article to allow
state officials to join election campaigns.
The Indonesian Military/Police faction supported the proposal
and expanded the list to include the House speaker and MPR
chairman on the list of officials not allowed to campaign in the
elections.
Golkar Party fully endorsed the draft, which sources said was
apparently because its chairman, Akbar, was not included on the
list.
Hamzah's United Development Party (PPP) was silent on the
proposal but called for the exclusion of civil servants in any
election campaign.
The existing Election Law No. 3/1999 does not ban state
officials from campaigning, but prohibits the use of state
facilities and houses of worship as campaign sites.
Hari said on Monday that state officials included those
working in the executive, judicial and legislative bodies.
He acknowledged that the legislative body was excluded from
the list. "If the legislators were also banned from taking part
in the campaign, then who would be campaigning?" he asked.