Regions brace for direct elections

Regions brace for direct elections

Local organizers are now busy preparing for the direct regional
elections, with the polls just a few weeks away. Starting in
June, the country's first-ever direct regional elections will be
held in 11 provinces and 215 regencies and municipalities
throughout the nation. The Jakarta Post's Archipelago team looked
into the preparations and possible conflicts before the polls.

A farmer in Central Java says he'd rather feed his chickens than
leave home and vote in the country's first-ever direct regional
elections.

The big shots weren't there to help prevent huge losses when
thousands of poultry farmers lost their chickens in the bird flu
crisis last year, Ignasius Dwi K said indignantly.

But local election officers across the archipelago cannot take
into account such indifference; once again they're making the
necessary preparations and bracing to face their neighbors'
protests in the event that anything goes amiss.

Among them is Edward Dewaruci, a member of Surabaya General
Election Commission (KPU). Like many other regional KPU members
across the archipelago, Edward has a demanding job to prepare for
the Surabaya mayoral election, scheduled to take place on June
27.

Since he was elected a KPU member in February, Edward says he
has attended many meetings that have lasted until midnight and
woken up early in the morning for others. He is currently in the
thick of organizing preparations ahead of the campaign period;
the provision and distribution of election materials.

Edward and his colleagues nationwide are even working harder
these days as the elections draw nearer; the first on June 1 in
Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan. There is much to be done so
that many people, including some organizers, have expressed doubt
that the elections will go ahead successfully.

Pessimism abounds, moreover that the preparations are being
plagued with financial shortcomings and other conflicts. Many
regions have expressed concern about the absence of funds
received from central government and worry they will have to rely
on their own cash-strapped budgets to hold the polls.

There are other problems too, for this nation new to the paper
wars common in local body politics. Questions over the
interpretation of the election rules led people in Maluku and
East Nusa Tenggara to go on a rampage recently, after their
favorite candidates were barred from running due to an
"eligibility problem".

The vast area of the nation, including the mountains of Papua,
will also be obstacles for the smooth distribution of election
materials, as has been seen in the legislative and presidential
elections last year.

Then there is the threat of a boycott by an increasingly
disillusioned and disenfranchised electorate. Speaking to many
potential voters The Jakarta Post team found the carry-on of most
elected officials in recent years has put the people's trust in
all kinds of politicians, whether big or small, at a very low
ebb.

Jansen Hutagaol, 48, a Medan resident puts it thus: "Direct or
indirect elections -- whatever -- both are bullshit. The
candidates and our leaders have never really cared about the
people. You can see this; that the people stay poor and the
leaders get richer after every election." Jansen says he has been
working as a parking attendant for eight years.

Election observers note that if the many people who feel like
Jansen do stay away, it will certainly reduce vote numbers and
the election's overall legitimacy.

However, despite the mounting skepticism and logistical
challenges, some still reserve hope the elections will proceed
well and deliver better, more-honest politicians.

Rumbadie Dalle, a senior journalist, hoped that the direct
elections would proceed peacefully and produce better outcomes
than the earlier system of appointments that was prone to
cronyism and graft.

"I believe that the direct election will produce credible,
capable and honest regional leaders. The direct election is the
best system in democracy," said Dalle, a correspondent with the
leading Tempo weekly news magazine.