Armando Siahaan & Anita Rachman, Jakarta – A watchdog and lawmakers on Wednesday called for the rapid completion of the long overdue bill on election organizers, by vote if necessary.
The House of Representatives Commission II, dealing with home affairs and regional autonomy, has yet to break a deadlock in drafting the revision to the 2007 Law on Election Organizers over whether political parties' members will be allowed to sit on various election management bodies.
Out of the House's nine factions, the Democratic Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN) are adamant about keeping the election bodies free of political influence, and refused to compromise in the draft.
But as long as the stalemate lasts, the country lacks a legal framework for preparation to begin for the 2014 elections.
The existing law stipulates that the present commissioners of the General Elections Commission (KPU) serve until 2013, leaving the new set of commissioners just one year to prepare for the national polls. The revision seeks to allow the new batch of commissioners to begin preparations earlier.
Erik Kurniawan, from watchdog the Indonesian Parliamentary Center, told the Jakarta Globe that he believed the commission should just vote on the matter.
"Besides being faster, it allows for the different factions to be held accountable for their stance," he said, adding that the ongoing lobbying among faction leaders was taking too much time.
Chairuman Harahap, the chairman of House Commission II from the Golkar Party, said voting is an option, as "this needs to be finished soon." But he said the issue could only be raised when the House reconvenes, after Nov. 22.
Arief Wibowo, a commission member from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said that since the revision was initiated in the House, it was important for lawmakers to agree on the draft, especially when discussing it with the government.
"But if development at the lobbying level doesn't [work], then voting is possible," he said.
Arief agreed on the importance of finalizing the bill quickly because lawmakers still had to deal with related legislation, the 2008 Law on Political Parties and the 2008 Legislative and Presidential Elections.
Meanwhile, Veri Junaidi, from the Consortium for National Law Reformation (KRHN), said that the commission should just come up with two draft alternatives, so that the deliberation could be taken to the next level, without being held up by the stalemate.
"The final decision does not rest with House Commission II, so they should just draft two options, and let the next stage decide," Veri said, referring to the stage centered on discussion with the government.