Panwaslu says government intervention unlawful

Panwaslu says government intervention unlawful

JAKARTA (JP): The Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu)
said on Sunday the government had no right to take over from the
General Elections Commission (KPU) if it fails to certify the
poll results on Monday.

Committee deputy chairman Mulyana W. Kusumah said in a
televised interview that, although the president is officially
responsible for the elections, there is no legal basis for the
government to validate the election results.

"There are no clauses in the General Election Law saying the
president can take over from the KPU to validate the poll
results," Mulyana said in an interview broadcast by state-run
TVRI.

He was responding to comments from KPU chairman Rudini and
Minister of Justice Muladi, who said the President would validate
the poll results if less than two-thirds of the 53 KPU members
signed.

"The KPU is undergoing a test of integrity," Mulyana said.

Citing Government Regulation No. 33 issued in May, Mulyana
said Panwaslu was authorized to validate the election results
even if less than two-thirds of KPU members approved.

Twenty-two parties have threatened to reject the poll results,
citing unsettled violations and breaches of the principle of fair
and honest elections. Andi Rasyid Djalil, chairman of the
Democratic Islam Party (PID), one of the protesting parties,
repeated the threat on Sunday.

Mulyana W. Kusumah said that the official poll watchdog would
"take a decision which is final and binding" if the KPU fails to
certify the poll results on Monday.

He said a move to boycott the poll results would be
irrelevant, because election procedures had so far lived up to
people's demands for fairness and honesty.

"There are no reasons to reject the polls, because ... the
election procedures have been taken appropriately in a bid to lay
a platform for a just and fair election and impartial law
enforcement in the future," Mulyana said.

Mulyana said Panwaslu had verified reports of violations and
encouraged law enforcers to take measures against all election
violations that were also criminal offenses.

Separately, the Justice and Unity Party (PKP) announced it
would sign the poll results, but demanded political assurance
from the KPU, Panwaslu and political parties that gained House of
Representatives seats that all poll offenders would be punished.

"We reluctantly approve the poll results ... to immediately
put an end to the long uncertainty stemming from internal
bickering in the KPU," PKP representative in the KPU Sutradara
Gintings said in a statement.

MPR

Meanwhile, mixed reactions greeted the KPU's plan to allocate
one seat in the next People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) for a
Chinese-Indonesian representative.

"The move is a major setback," said Jusuf Hamka, chairman of
Partisipasi Pembaruan Indonesia or Parpindo, an organization
which campaigns against racial discrimination.

Jusuf noted in a press statement on Saturday that allotting
seats in the Assembly on the basis of race and color and
labeling groups of people as "minorities" must be avoided.

"When the republic was established, there was no terms such as
'minority' or 'majority'. Indonesia is a unitary state," he said.

The elections commission is currently discussing the
composition of interest group representatives in the Assembly.

Law No. 4/1999 on the composition of legislators stipulates
that the 700 Assembly seats be divided as follows: 65 interest
group representatives, 135 regional representatives and 500 seats
for the House of Representatives, which includes 38 unelected
seats for the Indonesian Military.

So far, the members of the elections commission have listed a
number of criteria for people to qualify as interest group
representatives, but have yet to decide on the exact composition
of the representatives.

A temporary list issued by the commission includes nine
categories: Ulemas and religious leaders, economic groups, social
groups, isolated tribes, women, the disabled, scientists, artists
and civil servants.

Some commission members recently proposed minority groups such
as Chinese-Indonesians be included as interest group
representatives. (edt/amd)