Jakarta – House special committee drafting the bill on the president and vice president election have agreed to include a provision to fine candidates who bail out prior to the election date.
The provision states that candidates who bail out before the first round of the elections can be sentenced to between 24 and 60 months' imprisonment and fined Rp 25 billion (US$2.7 million) to Rp 50 billion.
Meanwhile, leaving the race during the second round of elections faces penalty of 36 to 72 months imprisonment and Rp 50 billion to Rp 100 billion in fines.
"The provision was agreed upon by committee members on Tuesday," said lawmaker Andi Yuliani as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com.
The measure had to be implemented Andi said, as withdrawing from election after it had started would mean causing unnecessary expenditure of election funds, "which would impact the budget".
Another committee member, Agus Purnomo, said the sanction would be applicable to those who fell ill. "This is a matter of national stability," Agus said, adding the health of candidates should already been clarified prior to the start of the election round.
Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairman Agus Purnomo said the provision would be useful in preventing conspiracy among candidates and political parties.
The House of Representatives is slated to pass the presidential election law in October. "Our target is to pass it on Oct. 21. We're working hard now to meet the schedule," Andi said.
The House previously targeted to pass the bill in July, but debates over some issues – including the requirement for a party to nominate a president candidate – hampered the plan.
Factions were split whether a candidate should be selected based on a party's number of votes nationwide, or based on seats it controlled in the House.
"Debates are still going on in other parts, and even though it's likely to end with a voting mechanism, I hope we don't have to do that."
The commission will continue deliberating the bill after Idul Fitri holidays, Andi said. (and)