General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Juri Ardiantoro (center) together with KPU commissioners (from left) Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah, Ida Budhiati, Hadar Nafis Gumay and Arief Budiman brief journalists on the Political Party Information System (Sipol) at the Media Center of the KPU building, Jakarta, Friday (17/3). The KPU commissioners will end their tenure on April 12, 2017.
The House of Representatives’ move to not immediately hold screenings for members of the General Elections Commission (KPU) and Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) is questionable.
The delay in choosing seven people for KPU candidate commissioners from the pool of 14 names proposed by President Joko Widodo through a selection panel may create a vacuum in both the KPU and Bawaslu. Such a condition will surely affect the ongoing regional elections and preparations for the 2019 general elections. The President submitted the names of 14 KPU candidate commissioners and 10 Bawaslu candidate members on February 14, 2017.
As stipulated in the Elections Law, the House must finish the screenings 30 days after receiving the names. The Election Law also permits the House to reject names the President proposes, which would then require the President to submit new names within 14 days of receiving a rejection letter from the House. Only a one-time rejection is allowed.
We hope the House can adhere to the law. Neglecting the selection process for KPU and Bawaslu members without any legally justifiable reason will only create bad public perception with regard to the House’s political behavior. As a representative of the people, the House must be responsible for all of this.
The statement by a few lawmakers that suggested the President issue a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to extend the tenure of KPU members of the 2012-2017 period, which will end on April 12, 2017, is an irresponsible suggestion. There is no emergency that may force the President to issue a Perppu. This “emergency that enforces” as a pre-requirement to issue the Perppu comes from the political maneuver of the lawmakers themselves.
The idea proposed by several lawmakers that the screenings be delayed until after deliberations on the election bill are completed does not make any sense. The suggestion shows just how big the interests of political parties are with regard to the KPU and Bawaslu.
The selection of KPU members refers to Law No. 15/2011, a positive legal product. The law is still in effect. The idea by several lawmakers to appoint politicians as KPU members, proposed after they conducted work visits abroad, contradicts the Constitution. The 1945 Constitution clearly stipulates that general elections are held by a general election commission that is national, fixed and independent. We hope the House will obey the law and will immediately deliberate the candidate members of KPU and Bawaslu.
