Minister tells KPU to resolve ballot price deadlock

Andi Hajramurni and Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Makassar/Jakarta

Home minister Hari Sabarno urged the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Monday to resolve immediately the deadlock over printing costs between the commission and tender participants to allow early printing of ballot papers.

"Ballot papers are very urgent items because they cannot be replaced with any alternative materials, as with ballot boxes," the minister said in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Over 160 million ballot papers are to be printed for the general elections scheduled for April 5 to elect members of the House of Representatives, provincial and regental legislatures and the Regional Representatives Council.

"The KPU and tender participants have not reached an agreement on the price. The KPU does not dare to select quotations higher than the budget," Hari said.

The KPU has delayed selecting the winners of its ballot printing tender due to a price disagreement. The commission had originally set the cost between Rp 248 and Rp 266 per ballot paper, while bidders had submitted quotations ranging from Rp 269 to Rp 538. The commission had thus decided to raise the cost to between Rp 248 and Rp 283 per ballot paper.

However, KPU member Mulyana W. Kusumah, chairman of the printing tender committee, said on Monday that the commission and the eight firms had agreed on the printing price for the ballot papers, but did not go into details.

The KPU is expected to select four winners from the eight qualifying bidders: Temprina Media Grafika, Pabelan Cerdas Nusantara, Setiaji, state-owned Printing Company, Balai Pustaka, Dharma Anugerah Indah and Asia Cemerlang Perdana.

The KPU has encountered unforeseen obstacles during each tender in preparing necessary materials for the national elections, from ballot box production to ballot paper production, to the most recent ink supply tender.

Meanwhile, KPU member Rusadi Kantaprawira, chairman of the ink tender committee, said on the same day that he expected to pick winners on Tuesday evening.

He said the KPU still planned to choose four winners to import the ink, but might give a chance to local producers to provide ink for 2.5 percent of the 1.1 million ink bottles needed for the April 5 election.

"Local indelible ink might be given an opportunity in the next ink tender for the July 5 presidential election," he said.

In a separate issue, Anas Urbaningrum, chairman of presidential and vice presidential aspirants registration committee, said a candidate could only be nominated by a political party or a coalition.

A presidential candidate from one political party cannot be nominated as a vice presidential candidate by another political parties and vice versa, he said.

Law No. 23/2003 on presidential and vice presidential candidates stipulates that only parties and/or a coalition of parties garnering 3 percent of House seats or five percent of votes can field candidates in the country's first ever direct presidential election on July 5.