Commissioner of the General Election Commission (KPU) Arief Budiman (left) and Chairman of the General Election Supervisory Agency Bawaslu Muhammad (right) were present at a hearing with Commission II of the House of Representatives at the Parliamentary complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday. The meeting discussed implementation of monitoring obstacles of regional elections.
BANDAR LAMPUNG, KOMPAS – The government will not easily issue regulations in lieu of law (perppu) to extend the office term of the General Election Commission (KPU) and Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) commissioners for the 2012-2017 period. The current KPU commissioners also hope that the replacement of the KPU commissioner can be done on time, which is by April 12.
“Should a perppu be issued for this kind of thing? A perppu is supposed to be issued when there is an urgent matter, for emergency situations. This is only for selecting KPU members,” said Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo in Bandar Lampung on Friday.
Previously, a number of House of Representatives members had asked the government to issue a perppu for office term extensions for the current KPU and Bawaslu members. The move was viewed as necessary because the House had not carried out fit and proper tests on KPU and Bawaslu member candidates for the 2017-2022 period, despite the fact that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s letter regarding KPU and Bawaslu member candidates had already been read out in a House plenary meeting on February 23.
The unfinished deliberation of the election bill is one of the reasons the House has yet to conduct the fit and proper tests on the 2017-2022 KPU and Bawaslu member candidates. The House wants the selection of the KPU and Bawaslu members to adhere to the election bill, which is targeted to be finished by April 28.
The government believes that the House will quickly carry out the fit and proper tests on KPU and Bawaslu member candidates for the 2017-2022 period.
If the House wants a change in the number of KPU and Bawaslu members, which currently stands at seven and five members respectively, it can be done after the fit and proper test and election bill deliberation process have finished.
This message was echoed by Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) deputy chairman at the House of Representatives, Arif Wibowo. He explained that if there are changes to be made to the norms of the KPU and Bawaslu in the election bill, which is currently being deliberated, it can be arranged in the transitional provisions. “For example, if the number of commissioners is added, the government will later send additional candidates after the election bill is ratified,” he said.
In light of this consideration, the House’s request for a perppu to extend the office terms of the current KPU and Bawaslu members seems to suggest that the House is not carrying out its responsibility according to the constitution.
“We need to stick to the mandate of the constitution that is still in effect,” said House Commission II deputy chairman from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Al Muzammil Yusuf.
Of the 10 factions in the House, PDI-P and PKS want the KPU and Bawaslu member selection to be carried out soon.
KPU’s hope
KPU chairman for the 2012-2017 tenure, Juri Ardiantoro, also hopes that the KPU commissioner replacement can be done on time, by April 12. He believes that the office term of the KPU members in his tenure does not need to be extended because the process would not be easy and would require a perppu.
“A perppu can only be issued in critical conditions. Is the current situation an emergency or is it (important) because of other matters?” asked Juri.
Juri feels that there is no emergency in the KPU selection process. He believes that what needs to be treated with more urgency is the preparation for the 2019 election, which needs to be started by June.
KPU commissioner Hadar Nafis Gumay added that the job of the new commissioners will not be easy because they also have to prepare the 2018 simultaneous regional election, which covers gubernatorial elections in regions with large populations, such as Central Java, West Java and East Java. Therefore, it is important there is no leadership vacuum in the KPU.
“We cannot continue (in our post) just like that because the law determines that our office term is five years. This means that on April 11 after midnight our term in office is over,” Hadar said.
House Commission II chairman from the Golkar Party, Zainudin Amali, said that there is still time to find common ground between the factions that want the KPU and Bawaslu member candidates fit and proper tests to be done soon and those that want the tests to be delayed.
