Regional direct elections to move ahead

The Jakarta Post, Padang/Indramayu/Riau Islands/Jambi

The direct election of regional heads should go ahead as planned, although funding issues and the absence of clear guidelines are still problems that need attention.

In Padang, the province's General Elections Committee has proposed simultaneous elections for the West Sumatra governor and some regents and mayors in June to cut down on costs, time and possible election fraud.

The committee's head, Mufti Syarfie, said on Tuesday that apart from elections for the governor, the region would also hold direct elections for 10 mayors and regents, whose office terms end this year.

They are the Bukittinggi and Solok mayoralties and the Padangpariaman, Pasaman, Solok, Agam, Limapuluh Kota, Solok Selatan, Pasaman Barat and Damasraya regencies.

"From the 10 regents and mayors, there are some of them whose office terms end in August. But following the Minister of Home Affairs (M. Ma'ruf) schedule to hold direct election of region heads in June 2005, we'll ask them to hold the election simultaneously in June," Mufti said.

He said holding simultaneous elections for the governor, mayors and regents would cut costs up to Rp 40 billion (US$4.3 million), save preparation time, and prevent cheating -- as a simultaneous election would minimize the possibility of candidates mobilizing voters and sending them to vote twice in different polling stations.

The election committee, he said, had proposed a budget of Rp 83 billion for the election in the West Sumatra provincial budget for this year and the plan for simultaneous elections to the provincial council.

"But until now, there has been no response from the provincial council and the governor. I hope we will be called to explain our plans," he said.

In the West Java town of Indramayu, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) will hold a convention to select candidates for regency elections in June.

Indramayu is set to be first town in West Java to hold a direct election. Along with Indramayu, four other electorates -- the Depok mayoralty and the Bandung, Karawang and Sukabumi regencies -- will also hold direct elections this year.

PDI-P Indramayu branch chairman Hermanto said the convention would begin in late February.

He said so far there were five candidates nominated for the position of regent -- including the incumbent, Irianto MS Syafiuddin, former House of Representatives legislator Achmad Djahidin and three local businesspeople.

Names for deputy regent included current deputy regent Dedi Wahidi, local businesswoman Eva Latifah and three other party members.

West Java Regental Administration Association chairman Dedi Supardi called for the provincial and central governments to financially assist the regional elections.

Most of the regencies and mayoralties in West Java had declared they could not finance the direct election of regional heads, he said.

"It's better if the direct election is directly financed through the state budget and the West Java provincial budget," Dedi said, adding that at least Rp 20 billion was needed for each election. The Indramayu regency alone needed Rp 22 billion while Bandung needed Rp 20 billion, he said.

In the Riau Islands province, the direct election of its governor would be held in June, at the same time as the elections of the Lingga and Riau Islands regents.

Surya Makmur Nasution, a member of the province's General Elections Committee, said on Monday the committee had made some preparations for the election, including proposing a Rp 40 billion fund to hold the direct election of the governor.

"We're also waiting for a central government decree on the election of regional heads that is expected to be issued this month along with technical guidelines," Surya said.

In Jambi, a student group, the Coalition of Students for Jambi's Future, rejected some groups' politicking on ethnic lines in voicing their support for governor candidate Zulkifli Nurdin.

The move to divisive race-based politics by the political elite was a further indication of their willingness to use any means to selfishly hold onto power, the coalition's spokesman Piet Haryadi said on Tuesday.