Presidential hopefuls must have zero debt
Presidential hopefuls must have zero debt
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The General Elections Commission (KPU) has announced additional
requirements for presidential and vice presidential candidates
standing in the upcoming election.
Anas Urbaningrum, from the KPU's presidential and vice
presidential candidate registration committee, said on Wednesday
that candidates must secure a certificate of solvency from the
district court stating that they have no debts -- either to
individuals or institutions -- that could inflict losses to the
state.
Law No. 22/2003 on the presidential and vice presidential
election requires candidates not to be indebted, but makes no
mention of a certificate from the district court.
Anas said the commission had just received a letter from the
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights about the authority to issue
such a certificate.
He stressed, however, that the KPU reserved the right to
verify such certificates should anything suspicious be found. He
did not elaborate.
The ministry's letter also stated that candidates must obtain
a certificate from the commercial court to the effect that they
are not undischarged bankrupts.
Although the Constitutional Court (MK) has ruled as invalid a
regulation banning former members of the outlawed Indonesian
Communist Party (PKI) from contesting seats in the legislative
elections, the KPU said on Wednesday that former communists would
still be barred from standing in the presidential election.
Anas pointed out that the legislation banning former PKI
members from contesting the presidential and vice presidential
posts had not been reviewed by the Constitutional Court.
The court recently ruled that former PKI members must be
allowed to contest seats in all the country's legislative bodies
by 2009.
The verdict triggered calls for the repeal of all existing
discriminatory laws, including the ban on former PKI members from
contesting the presidential elections.
The country will hold its first ever direct presidential
election on July 5, with a possible runoff between the top two
candidates on Sept. 20.
The elections will be preceded by legislative elections on
April 5 to choose members of the House of Representatives (DPR),
the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), and provincial and
regental/municipal legislatures.
Parties or coalitions garnering 3 percent of the seats in the
House or 5 percent of the total votes contested in the
legislative elections will be allowed to propose candidates to
run in the presidential election.
Anas said that presidential and vice presidential aspirants
would also be required to obtain tax certificates from the
Directorate General of Taxation stating their tax file numbers
and tax payments over the last five years.
Other requirements include Indonesian nationality and never
having been jailed.
"Presidential and vice presidential candidates will have to
seek the certificates from the relevant institutions by
themselves. The public will also be allowed to make submissions
on the certificates presented by each candidate," he said without
elaborating.
He said the KPU would stick to its initial schedule for the
registration of presidential and vice presidential candidates.
This must take place between May 1 and May 7 as stipulated in
KPU Instruction No. 638/2003.
The KPU would undertake verification of the administrative
requirements between May 2 and May 9, and announce the outcome
between May 5 and May 10. The period allowed for correcting and
submitting additional documents would be from May 6 to May 17,
followed by further verification from May 7 to May 18.
On May 19, the KPU would announce the numerical order in which
the presidential and vice presidential aspirants will appear on
the ballot papers.