President signs regulation on direx regional elections
President signs regulation on direx regional elections
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has signed off regulations on the direct election of regional leaders but senior officials say some specific issues still require discussion.
Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf said on Monday the unfinished business included revisions to the state-funded regional budgets, the preparation of each region for the elections and other technical matters, including the procurement of election materials.
Anticipating problems in the field, a team comprised of officials from the ministry and other related institutions -- the General Election Commission (KPU), the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the Attorney General's Office (AGO) -- has been set up to monitor the implementation of the regulations, Ma'ruf said.
"Based on the schedule, the direct elections should be held simultaneously nationwide in the middle of this year. Right now, we (the ministry) have already classified two provinces that are likely to face difficulties. They are Aceh, which is still suffering from the tsunami devastation, and West Irian Jaya, which has just been established," Ma'ruf said.
"I've talked to Aceh councillors and they said the elections could be held in regencies not affected by the tsunami. The election in West Irian Jaya, meanwhile, will be held after Papua completes the establishment of the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) as stipulated by its special autonomy law," he said.
Each voter would receive a new voter card to differentiate the regional elections from the recent national-level direct general election, Ma'ruf said.
A total of 225 regencies and municipalities along with 13 provinces are due to hold regional direct elections to vote for local administrations in June this year. It will be the first direct regional elections in the country, which analysts say are a crucial move to promote further democracy.
Meanwhile, former director general of regional autonomy Ryaas Rasyid warned the government to prepare well for the elections in order to avoid local conflicts.
"It may even be better to postpone the elections, especially if the support facilities are not ready yet. One vital step is to familiarize the regions with the processes and their consequences because some of the regulations could be ambiguous if they are not properly understood," he said.
Ryaas emphasized the importance of prioritizing education programs over meeting election deadlines.
"We should just leave the schedules for each region to arrange. The elections don't have to be carried out all together at the same time," he said quoted by Antara.