Presidential election bill favors top political parties
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri continues to overlook people's aspirations despite the fact that public support is thinning very rapidly.
In the final draft of the presidential election bill, which the government hopes to submit later this month, only presidential and vice presidential candidates nominated by political parties are allowed to contest the elections, disregarding public pressure to allow independents to run for the country's top posts.
Should the House of Representatives (DPR) endorse the bill, which is very likely, hopes for instituting credible leaders in the top posts will be completely wiped out as recent polls suggest that current national leaders lack the credibility and personal integrity necessary to run the country beyond 2004.
The draft, which Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno said would be presented before President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Monday, also lists several requirements for candidates, including a clean track record without any prior convictions.
Nevertheless, the bill will likely fail to avoid government intervention in selecting presidential and vice presidential candidates as the draft proposes that candidates should undergo administration screening conducted by the General Election Commission (KPU), of which its secretary general comes from the office of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Earlier, several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro), voiced their strong rejection of the proposal, saying that the presence of government representatives in KPU would affect the institution's independence.
The NGOs also proposed that independent candidates be allowed to run in the 2004 general election so that credible public figures, who are not associated with existing political parties, could contest the presidential and vice presidential posts.
They also suggested that local political parties be allowed to participate in elections so that candidates running for public offices can be thoroughly scrutinized by their constituents.
Several polls conducted by a number of research institutes in 2002 showed that none of the current national leaders had the necessary leadership skills or vision to lift the country out of its prolonged multidimensional crises.
The latest draft of the presidential election bill also proposes an alternative article for the nomination of presidential candidates.
The first alternative stipulates that only the top five political parties are allowed to name its candidates.
If this alternative article is accepted, the presidential election will be held after the election of members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and Regional Representatives Council (DPD). The names of presidential candidates, however, can be made public before the general election.
The second alternative simply states that political parties and coalitions of parties may nominate candidates without specifying a vote percentage. If the second alternative is adopted, the election of president, vice president and legislative members would be held simultaneously.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is scheduled to hold the fourth presentation of the draft before the President and the Vice President on Monday, along with another on the composition of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the DPR, regional legislative councils for provinces (DPRD) and the DPD.
Lawmakers endorsed the Political Party Law in November 2002, while another bill on general elections is being deliberated by the House and is expected to be endorsed in March, instead of at the end of 2002.