Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Political bargaining was involved in the selection of five Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) members by the House of Representatives, observers said Friday.
They told The Jakarta Post such a political compromise could affect the neutrality of the new board in carrying out its work.
In a vote Wednesday the House's Commission II for political and domestic security affairs selected five – three women and two men – new Bawaslu members. They were among the 15 candidates proposed by the government.
The five included People's Election Network coordinator Wahidah Suaib, former Central Java elections supervisory committee (Panwaslu) chairman Nur Hidayat Sardini and former Jakarta election commissioner candidate Agustiani Tio FS.
The two others were Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah University lecturer Bambang Eka Cahya Widodo and former Depok election supervisory committee member Wirdyaningsih. Wahidah received the largest number of votes with 41, followed by Nur Hidayat and Agustiani with 34 and 31 votes, respectively. Bambang received 29 votes and Wirdyaningsih 28.
The former deputy chairman of the now-defunct national Panwaslu, Saut Sirait, criticized the House over what he said was a "political compromise" in the selection process.
"That is the democratic process we have to get through. But the public will demand they stay neutral whatever deals they faced during the selection process," he said.
Saut hoped the five newly selected members had the ability to carry out their task of supervising the election process in the face of media and public monitoring and criticism.
"My experiences during the Panwaslu period showed that we were scrutinized by the media and the public. That's why we need the involvement of as many NGOs monitoring the elections as possible," he said.
The new election law scrapped Panwaslu and replaced it with the more powerful Bawaslu.
The main difference between the two bodies is that the General Elections Commission (KPU) and other related parties, such as police and prosecutors, are required to follow up on Bawaslu's recommendations on election violations.
Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) executive director Hadar Navis Gumay similarly criticized the selection process for the Bawaslu members. He said political bargaining meant the best candidates were not selected.
Several other candidates had better knowledge and experience in the election process, monitoring and legal affairs than the chosen Bawaslu members, he said.
"We can clearly see political compromises in the selection process when a group of lawmakers tried to barter with other groups so that each faction was represented on the supervisory body. "Thus, the process did not select the best candidates," he said.
Hadar did praise the process that reduced the number of Bawaslu candidates from thousands to 15. "But the vote at the House allowed for a political deal," he said.
The selection of Bawaslu members was the latest step in the necessary institutional building for the 2009 legislative and presidential elections, after the House passed the law on parliamentary elections.
Lawmakers are now discussing a presidential election bill and a draft law on the position and composition of the House.