Jakarta – A coalition of NGOs voiced their objections on Sunday to a proposal that political parties be allowed to run candidates in elections for the Regional Representatives Council, which currently comprised of independents.
The coalition said the move could undercut the council's reason for existence, which was to represent regions, rather than parties, in policy making.
It said the interference of political parties in the council would make it no different to the "centralistic" House of Representatives, and could harm the bicameral, check and balance system supposed to take place between the two systems.
Hadar Gumay, executive director of the Center for Electoral Reform, a coalition member, said legislators had tried to "alter the (council's) regional characteristics" through the revision of two articles in the 2003 Law on Legislative Elections.
"One article bans party executives from running for office at (the council) while another article requires a candidate to have lived in an area for a certain period of time before he can run for it," he said.
A researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Indra J. Piliang, said that political parties had hardly spoken for the interests of local communities and focused more on "central issues".
Indra expressed concern over political parties' domination of the country's democratic system, citing their still "poor capacity" for legislative functions.
Another coalition member, constitutional law expert Refly Harun, said that the council should be given wider authority to strengthen its legislative function instead of weakening it by letting parties intrude into the council.
Meanwhile, chairman of the House's special committee deliberating the legislative election bill, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, said legislators had agreed to allow party members, and not party executives to run for the Regional Representatives Council.
He said party members were not tied to parties as the executives were, so party members could run for council as individual candidates.
Ferry, who represents the Golkar Party, also acknowledged that legislators had abolished the residency requirement in the 2003 law and changed it into a requirement that candidates "must know and be known in the areas they will represent".
"And, we'll oblige them (through the revision of the law) to live in the area they represent after they're installed as council members, not as what happens now where the councilors left their regions for Jakarta," he told The Jakarta Post.
However, Regional Representatives Council member Mustani, who represents Bengkulu, said the residency requirement was needed because candidates would have an emotional connection with an area only if they had stayed there for some time.
He added that the council had no clear status because it only had a very limited legislative function. Mustani said the council should be given a wider authority in the deliberation of bills related to regional autonomy. (wda)