Political parties bill endorsed despite gender equality issue

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The House of Representatives endorsed on Thursday a bill on political parties despite the protest of a number of legislators demanding the adoption of specific rulings to ensure gender equality in politics.

The endorsement of the bill on political parties, which will replace Law No. 2/1999 on political parties, is expected to pave the way for the 2004 general election.

Eight of the nine factions in the House endorsed the bill, with the lone holdout the Reform faction -- consisting of legislators from the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Justice Party (PK) -- which objected to the bill's failure to address the gender issue.

"This bill does not accommodate the aspirations of women, who demand a quota of 30 percent for women in political positions. Please, note my objection," Reform faction chairman Achmad Farhan Hamid said during a House plenary meeting.

The meeting began 45 minutes behind schedule as leaders waited for legislators to show up. It was opened by House Deputy Speaker A.M. Fatwa at 9:45 a.m. with only 188 legislators in attendance.

Besides the Reform faction, at least five female legislators protested the passage of the bill.

They were Eka Komariah Kuncoro of the Golkar Party, Ida Fauziah of the National Awakening Party (PKB), Khatijah Harun Saleh of the United Development Party (PPP), Tumbu Saraswati of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Nurdiati Akma of the Reform faction.

Their protest drew applause from activists of the Women's Network of Politics, who watched the passage of the bill from the balcony of the assembly hall.

Female legislators had joined with women's activists to urge the special committee deliberating the bill to include a specific clause mandating a quota of 30 percent of political seats be allocated to women.

After a series of debates by the special committee, the legislators reached a compromise on the issue.

Article 7 (e) of the bill states that the recruitment process for political positions are to be governed by democratic mechanisms that take into consideration gender equality and fairness.

Dissatisfied with the compromise, the women's activists unfurled banners after the plenary meeting protesting the bill.

The activists accused the House factions of betraying them, and threatened to campaign against existing political parties during the 2004 elections.

The chairman of the House special committee that debated the bill, Yahya Zaini, said there were four substantial issues addressed by the new bill, including the requirements for establishing a political party.

According to the bill, a political party must have offices in at least half of all provinces, in half of all regencies in these provinces and in one-fourth of all districts in each regency.

The new bill also empowers the boards of political parties to dismiss party members from the legislative body.

Also, legislators will lose their seats if they lose membership in their political party.

The bill also governs donations from individuals and corporations to political parties. The bill stipulates that individual donations to a political party may not exceed Rp 200 million (US$22,200) per year, while donations from companies or enterprises cannot exceed Rp 800 million per year.

Key points of the bill

Article 2 (3): A political party must have offices in at least half of all provinces, in half of the regencies in these provinces and in one-fourth of all districts in each regency.

Article 12: Legislators can be dismissed from the House of Representatives for specified reasons.

Article 16: Conflicts or disputes involving a political party regarding the stipulations of this bill will be heard by the District Court. The court must resolve the case in no less than 60 days. If a party appeals, the Supreme Court must resolve the case within 30 days.

Article 18: Personal donations to a political party may not exceed Rp 200 million ($22,200) per year, and donations from companies or enterprises may not exceed Rp 800 million per year.