Military and police voting rights

Military and police voting rights

Law Lo. 3/1999 on general elections stipulates that military
members do not have voting rights or a right to be elected. The
present bill stipulates otherwise.

The problem is whether allowing a member of the military or
the police to became a legislator is tantamount to pulling the
military and police closer to the political arena. The most
feasible way would be to have them first leave the military or
police service.

The exercising of voting rights could be a stronger reason to
abolish representation of the military and the police in the
legislature. But, then, the problem is whether by exercising
their voting rights would loosen the bond between a soldier and
his commander.

In a number of countries, military personnel have voting
rights. However, this is applicable in countries where the
military has kept a very great distance from politics.

Politicians surely think that a stipulation of the People's
Consultative Assembly is a political decision and is therefore
amendable. Hence fears may be justified of military and police
members being led into political adventures.

Signs of this are clear through the vying of politicians to be
the first to support this government-proposed bill.

-- Koran Tempo, Jakarta