PPP lobbies hard for electoral law reform bill

PPP lobbies hard for electoral law reform bill

JAKARTA (JP): United Development Party (PPP) leaders met with
their House of Representatives counterparts from the Armed Forces
faction yesterday to solicit support for its electoral law reform
bill.

The Armed Forces (ABRI) was the first faction the PPP
approached to push its Bill on Initiative onto the agenda of the
House of Representatives.

The PPP is forging ahead with its campaign to change the
election regulations, even though most observers do not believe
the bill has any chance of ever being debated in the House.

Suparman Achmad, the ABRI faction chairman, said he would need
about two weeks to study the bill before he announces ABRI's
official stand.

"We will seriously consider the bill," Suparman said as he
received the bill from PPP faction chairman Hamzah Haz in his
tiny office crammed with journalists.

He said he personally thinks the existing electoral law does
not need revising, but agreed that the implementation of the law
could be improved.

PPP leaders said they will approach the other two factions in
the House, the ruling Golkar and the minority Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI), next week.

The PPP must muster the support of at least 20 members from
two factions to have the bill debated in the House.

Although most political observers have dismissed PPP's
chances, they said the move alone could win the party extra votes
in the 1997 general election.

Golkar chief Harmoko has repeatedly said the existing
electoral law is still relevant and that his political grouping
is not interested in discussing possible amendments.

"Who knows? Luck might be on our side, and they (Golkar) could
change their minds," Hamzah told journalists yesterday.

PDI politicians have been sympathetic to the PPP's initiative
from the outset, even though PPP refused them support when PDI
sought revision of the same law in the 1980s.

Hamzah said the bill aims at making the electoral system fair
to all candidates and political parties contesting the polls.

The bill seeks to revise the law to allow all contestants to
actively take part in the whole electoral process, from the
planning stage to supervision, vote counting and evaluation.

The proposed legislation seeks to end the President's monopoly
on organizing elections, and give contestants a greater say in
the way elections are administered.

The PPP wants elections to be held on a holiday, or have the
election day made a public holiday, to minimize the possibility
of people casting more than one ballot.

Hamzah argued that other factions endorsing the bill will help
eliminate the image that the House is the government's rubber
stamp.

The House has not made a single law of its own in the last
three decades, and all bills sponsored by the government have
been endorsed by the House.

Hamzah said he hoped the ABRI would support the PPP bill, thus
paving the way for its deliberation.

"Remember, ABRI is regarded as the stabilizer of the nation's
politics," he said. (pan)