Panwaslu seeks review of campaign rules
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Semarang/Yogyakarta
Although the presidential campaign will start only on Tuesday, the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) is already planning to file for judicial review on General Elections Commission (KPU) ruling No. 35/2004 on the presidential campaign, saying that it violates the Elections Law.
Panwaslu member Masyhudi Ridwan said on Monday that the measure would be the committee's final move, should talks with the KPU on the issue fail to produce a resolution of the matter.
"We shall hold informal talks with KPU members and if they fail we shall file directly for review with the Supreme Court," he said.
He said the ruling was rife with loopholes that could easily be exploited by presidential and vice presidential candidates contesting the July 5 polls.
Panwaslu earlier pointed out that three articles in the ruling contradicted Law No. 23/2003 on direct presidential elections.
"There are also contradictions in the ruling itself. For example, Article 1 stipulates that nine elements constitute the definition of a campaign, but Article 4 says that there are only five," he said.
Masyhudi said that such inconsistencies would make it difficult for Panwaslu to determine whether or not candidates had violated rules on campaigning.
In a related development, Solahuddin Wahid, the running mate of Golkar Party presidential candidate Wiranto, said in Semarang, Central Java, on Monday that he could not be accused of campaigning ahead of schedule.
Solahuddin was in the city to fulfill a summons by the local Panwaslu, which had accused him of early campaigning in a seminar.
"I did not campaign early. I was invited as a speaker in a seminar, and if I delivered a speech about my vision and mission it was because a participant at the seminar asked me to," he said.
Solahuddin, former member of the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM), also said that he did not distribute campaign paraphernalia to the participants of the seminar.
"As proof, our official sticker says Wareg (well-fed), Waras (healthy) and Wasis (educated), but ones that were distributed during the seminar read Wareg (well-fed), Aman (peace) and Tenang (secure)," he said.
Semarang Panwaslu chairman Sriyanto said that the committee would corroborate Solahuddin's statement with testimony from seminar participants.
The KPU ruling on presidential campaigning stipulates that candidates' activities can be construed as campaigning if they involve the verbalization of their vision or mission.
In Yogyakarta, presidential and vice presidential candidates nominated by the National Mandate Party (PAN), Amien Rais and Siswono Yudohusodo, embarked on what could be considered early campaigning.
In a venue provided by Gadjah Mada University, the pairing delivered a speech setting out plans and programs should they win the presidential election, while members of their campaign team distributed printed material.
Thousands of students and residents who live in the vicinity of the university thronged the campaign venue to get a glimpse of the pair and took home campaign paraphernalia.
Amien taught political science at the university before embarking on a full-fledged political career.