Jakarta (Antara Bali) - Many eminent figures have opined that the draft law on the election of regional leaders by the members of the regional legislative assembly (DPRD) is a setback to Indonesian democracy.
Under the revised system, governors, regents, and city mayors would be elected by the members of the DPRD.
The draft law was initiated by the Red-White coalition as they considered that direct elections were prone to high costs. Voting in parliament will serve as a money-saving measure and prevent transactional politics.
Meanwhile, a political observer from the University of Indonesia Ari Junaedi stated that the direct election of regional leaders (Pilkada) has given freedom to the people to choose their regional head.
"The freedom will be seized and given to the political elites in the parliament. The election of regional leaders through the DPRD is extremely dangerous for the survival of our democracy. We have a bad story about election through the parliament. By providing funds, the regional head candidates must win in the elections through the parliament," he affirmed.
He pointed out that the members in the regional legislative could be the representatives of investors who have interest in the mining sector, while the regional head-elect was vulnerable to becoming an automated teller machine (ATM) for the legislative's members.
According to Ari, members of the House of Representatives must maintain the current system of electing regional leaders directly by the people if they still have a conscience.
"I really believe that election through the Parliament will open up huge opportunities for manipulation of voting. Candidates are selected according to party, not on the wishes of majority of the voters," he emphasized.
He remarked that the election of regional leaders through the DPRD will not produce leaders such as Ridwan Kamil in Bandung, Abdullah Aswar Anas in Banyuwangi, Bima Arya in Bogor, Tri Rismaharini in Surabaya, and Jokowi-Ahok in Jakarta.
Precisely, the winner was a big financier who clearly has an agenda to recover the money spent during the elections.
"If you want to fix the election laws, you should set up detailed guidelines on campaign funds. Campaign funding during elections should be limited and audited by a public accountant. Transparency and accountability should be the spirit of the reform agenda," he stated.
Moreover, People's Synergy for Democracy in Indonesia (Sigma) Director Said Salahudin noted that there were five reasons to reject the revised system.
The first reason is that historically, the direct election of Pilkada was the original intent behind the amendment of the 1945 Constitution. Almost all fractions at the time agreed in principle, and governors, regents, and city mayors would be elected directly by the people.
The second reason for the rejection was the high cost incurred during direct elections. It can be solved by improving the rules. For instance, the elections could be held simultaneously, so that the provincial and district governments can jointly finance the election of regional leaders.
"The number of polling stations can be reduced by setting the number of voters in each ballot station to a maximum of 800 people as followed in the presidential election. Then, there will not be a duplication of the election budget. Budget through government agencies must be stopped. The election budget must be channeled through election organizers," he noted.
Thirdly, if direct elections are considered to be conflict-prone then the issue can be handled by tightening the recruitment and selection process of the election organizers.
"Fourth, if direct elections are assessed to increase money politics, it can be minimized by changing the campaign rules. For instance, campaign methods 'in another form' should be abolished. The form of campaign is often used by candidates to give money to the voters," he stated.
Fifth, it was untrue that the direct elections produced regional heads who were involved in corruption cases as the monitoring agencies are tightening their grip and fighting corruption.
"If the DPRD elects the regional leaders then it may result in the arrest of more number of tainted regional heads," he emphasized. (WDY)
