Panwaslu seeks review of campaign rules

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.