West Irian election body still in limbo

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post , Jayapura, Papua

The establishment of the West Irian Jaya General Election Commission (KPUD), which was supposed to take place on Tuesday, has been postponed indefinitely, an official said.

Abraham O. Attururi, the acting West Irian Jaya governor, said that the postponement was due to the tight schedules of the members of central General Elections Commission (KPU) ahead of the 2004 general election.

Abraham said that six out of the total 11 KPU members had just returned home from overseas trips, preventing them from convening a plenary meeting to appoint five out of the 10 candidates for membership of the West Irian Jaya KPU.

Abraham said he himself had proposed the names of the 10 candidates to the central KPU.

The six central KPU members went to, among other places, the United States and Canada, he said, in order to inform fellow Indonesians of the new general election rules.

Indonesians will, for the first time ever, be able to vote directly for their choice of president and vice president.

Abraham said that he expected the central KPU to convene a plenary meeting immediately to appoint the five members of the West Irian Jaya KPU and to determine the schedule for their inaugurations.

"The establishment of the West Irian Jaya KPU must done soon considering that the 2004 general election is drawing near," he said.

The five members, if appointed, will be responsible for organizing the general election in West Irian Jaya province.

The KPU has reserved House seats for West Irian Jaya in anticipation of a government decision to formalize the new province in the near future. Papua will have 10 House seats up for grabs, while West Irian Jaya will have three.