Objections pour in over 22 KPU candidates

Objections pour in over 22 KPU candidates

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives has received a
significant number of public objections to the 22 government-
proposed candidates for General Elections Commission (KPU)
membership, a legislator said on Tuesday.

Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, deputy chairman of the House
commission II on home and legal affairs which is screening the
candidates, said here on Tuesday that most of the 900 letters
sent to the commission questioned the candidates' integrity and
protested their candidacy, while only a few supported them.

"We will consider the public's objections and support during
selection of the candidates," he said, adding that after the
screening, the candidates would undergo a fit and proper test
between March 7 until March 10.

Among the candidates are former chairman of the Indonesian
Muslim Students Association (HMI) Anas Urbaningrum and chairman
of the Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) Mulyana
W. Kusumah. Both Anas and Mulyana were on the 11-member team
which selected the political parties eligible to contest the 1999
elections.

Other candidates include University of Indonesia (UI)
political lecturers Chusnul Mariyah, Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin and
Valina Singka; Surabaya-based Airlangga University's political
lecturers Daniel Sparringa and Ramlan Surbakti; UI sociologist
Imam B. Prasodjo; Muslim scholar Komaruddin Hidayat; and Catholic
priest Mudji Sutrisno.

Chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights
Association (PBHI) Hendardi and Rachman Tolleng, an activist of
the 1966 Group of Student Protesters which helped topple founding
president Sukarno and put Soeharto in power, were also nominated
by the government for the commission.

The establishment of an independent KPU as outlined in the
state policy guidelines is seen as urgent because the original
KPU, which consisted of representatives of the 48 political
parties taking part in last year's general elections, was accused
by many of being partial and unprofessional.

Ferry declined to elaborate on the public's objections and
support of the 22 proposed candidates.

He said the commission would stick to the law on general
elections in setting all criteria for the KPU's members and would
not bow down to political pressure in selecting the candidates.

"Our commission will not merely depend on input from the
public, but also on the criteria stipulated in the law and the
commission itself," he said.

He cited that independence and personal integrity were two
decisive characteristics which the candidates must possess in
order to pass the selection process.

"The KPU's independence will depend on its members and will be
a decisive factor in organizing free and fair elections," he
said.

Amien Aryoso, chairman of the commission, said he was
pessimistic that the commission would be able to select 11 out of
the 22 candidates due to strong public objections.

"The commission has decided that the KPU will have 11 members
and we want to pick those 11 people from the 22 candidates. But,
the commission could ask the government to propose alternative
names if most of the current candidates fail the fit and proper
test," he said. (rms)