Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Analysts have advised the government to issue a regulation in lieu of the law pending the revision of the 2004 law on regional administration to accommodate independent candidates in local elections.

A total of 14 new elections at the regency level and four at the provincial level are scheduled to take place this year.

The government has revised articles in the 2004 law rather than issue the required regulation, called a perpu, even though this avenue will see independent candidates wait even longer for approval.

The revision of the law is a consequence of the Constitutional Court's July 23 ruling allowing independent candidates in local elections as an alternative to those endorsed by political parties.

Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) director Hadar N. Gumay said failure to include independent candidates in elections after the Court's ruling was a violation of law.

"The moment the ruling was issued, independent candidacy became legal," Hadar said. "It's unfortunate that such right is curtailed just because the government can't immediately legalize it."

Hadar said the other alternative would be to postpone local elections pending the completion of all required regulation revisions, which the government said would have been done by January next year.

The government would also need to amend the Government Regulation No. 6/2005 on the election, inauguration and dismissal of the head and deputy of local administrations.

Ray Rangkuti of the Civil Society Indonesia Network and formally the head of the Independent Committee for Election Monitoring said the government should instead issue a perpu because it was the most logical option to contain growing regional political aspirations. "Providing the legal basis months after the Court made the ruling is a violation," Ray said.

State administration expert Mahfud MD said the government's decision to revise the law was most likely due to a fear of the possible political consequences if it issued a perpu.

A perpu must be approved by the House within 60 days of its enactment to be recognized as valid. A rejection by the House would see the President draft a bill negating the perpu.

A perpu is normally issued in an emergency, including a war or disaster, although the interpretation of emergency is at the President's discretion.

"Perhaps the government doesn't see the situation as an emergency or the President feels it's more convenient to take the longer route of revising the law... and face the ensuing political consequences," Mahfud, also a National Awakening Party (PKB) lawmaker, said.