Poll commission completes drawing up campaign rules
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The General Elections Commission (KPU) finalized on Wednesday a new regulation on media campaigns ahead of the runoff, which allocates 35 minutes of airtime a day for each candidate during the three-day campaign period.
The regulation was the result of protracted negotiations with the campaign teams of the two candidates. It will be incorporated into the commission's Ruling No. 35/2003 on the presidential election campaign.
According to the regulation, during the campaign period each candidate will be granted 20 minutes daily to run advertisements on private television stations, regardless of the frequency of the ads.
The campaign team of Megawati Soekarnoputri and her running mate Hasyim Muzadi had earlier proposed that the ads be aired no more than five times per day and last for no more than 60 seconds each. The Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Jusuf Kalla pairing demanded that the KPU allow campaign ads to be 90-seconds long and broadcast 10 times a day.
"We don't want to set a limit on what candidates have to say about their platforms. So, they can use the 20-minute period as they wish. Conceivably, the candidates could divide it into as many spots as possible," KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti said here.
He said, while the candidates would be responsible for financing their own ads, the KPU would also provide them with some free airtime.
Under the new regulation, the two candidates would be given up to 15 minutes of free airtime to deliver their speeches on state- run and private radio and television stations between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m..
"We have called on all radio and television stations to broadcast their recorded speeches, as they will be considered public service announcements," Ramlan said.
In a country where reading is not the primary means of getting information, television is considered the most effective way to reach the bulk of voters.
Given the paramount role of the media, independent media watchdogs earlier called on the KPU to draw up a clear-cut regulation that would sanction campaigning in the media ahead of the runoff.
As for print media campaigns, the new regulation stipulates that candidates are allowed no more than half a page per day.
"The ads will not be printed side by side, as previously proposed," Ramlan said.
The KPU had intended that, for the sake of equality, the candidates' ads and announcements would be run on the same page, or one after the other.
During the campaign, however, the public will not have the chance to see the Megawati-Hasyim and Susilo-Kalla tickets engage in a direct debate. Instead, the KPU will host a dialog in which -- one at a time -- the two candidates will face a board of panelists.
"We established early on that there would be no presidential debates during the three-day campaign period. It has been crystal clear. The only thing that is not certain is whether the campaign teams will accept the panelists," Ramlan said.