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.