Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Political parties and candidates might resort to smear campaigns and dirty tricks during the nine-month campaign period that starts next week, the General Elections Commission (KPU) has warned.
There is likely to be tougher competition between parties contesting the 2009 general elections because they are required to win a minimum number of votes to have a chance at getting a seat, KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary said Friday.
"Under the 2008 election law, a political party must win at least 2.5 percent of the vote to join the meeting to decide on the distribution of legislative seats, let alone actually get the seats. It is not easy for parties to secure that number of votes," he said.
"They will do anything when faced with such fierce competition. A dirty campaign is something we should be ready for."
About 174 million people will be eligible to vote in the legislative elections, scheduled for April 9, 2009, but the KPU expects only 70 percent of them to turn out.
The campaign period will run from July 12 to April 5 next year and is divided into two stages. The first stage, from July 12 to March 17, is dedicated to indoor rallies, whereas the second phase, from March 18 to April 5, allows outdoor rallies.
Competition might occur not only between parties, but also between legislative candidates from the same party, Hafiz said.
The 2008 election law requires a candidate to win least 30 percent of the vote threshold, which varies across electoral districts depending on population, to win a seat in the House.
"In the 2004 election, many candidates qualified for a seat in the House. Therefore, individual candidates within a party will compete to woo voters," Hafiz said.
He is foreseeing a hectic situation because the campaign period will coincide with a number of regional election campaigns before the end of the year, including gubernatorial elections in East Java and Bali.
"We will need maximum security by police officers to avoid disorder," he said.
The KPU and the National Police signed Friday a memorandum of understanding on security measures during election activities. The agreement includes security coverage for KPU personnel and offices in the regions. It also stipulates that the police and the election supervisory board should jointly monitor the printing, storage and distribution of ballot papers before and after the polls.
"The problem is election fraud in polling stations, because observers may not be there at all times during the ballot counting," he said.
The KPU will discuss the problem with the police, as well as with community heads to hire community security personnel, he added.
With only about 375,000 personnel, the National Police will be unable to secure the 511,000 polling stations across the country.
Hafiz said the KPU was also concerned the three-month interval between the legislative elections and the presidential election was too short.
The KPU could lack the necessary time to prepare for a possible presidential runoff and legal disputes over the election result, he said.
The announcement of the results of the legislative elections is scheduled for May 9, 2009. The newly elected president and vice president will be sworn in on Oct. 20.