Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Association of Indonesian Regency Administrations (Apkasi) has called on the central government to directly finance local elections and phase out the second round ballot, for reasons of financial efficiency.

Apkasi chairman Isran Noor said in a recent discussion on the local election bill that the development of election infrastructure, including regional election bodies and numerous phases in local elections, had overburdened most regencies.

"Most regencies have proposed that the central government take over the financing of local elections through the state budget," he said.

The House of Representatives is still reviewing the Law on Direct Local Elections to make the organizing of local elections more efficient.

Isran, regent of East Kutai in East Kalimantan, argued that local elections should not be covered by the regional budget because they would be integrated into the general election regime.

"The long phases in local elections, the emergence of numerous independent candidates and the second round, in cases of an absence of a majority victory, have overburdened the budget of regencies," he said.

The Home Ministry's director of regional autonomy affairs, Djohermansyah Djohan, said that the central government had no authority to take over the financing of local elections, which were an integral part of regional autonomy.

"With regional autonomy, regencies are required to hold local elections to elect their own chief to deal with their own domestic affairs. Therefore, local elections have to be covered by the regional budget," he said.

He admitted that local elections were an integral part of general elections but that they were regulated by a special law. Djohermansyah also said that the second round was unavoidable in the case that no majority victory was established in the first round. "Democracy is more valuable than money," he added.

Chairman of the House's Commission II on domestic governance, regional autonomy, state apparatus and agrarian affairs, Chaeruman Harahap denounced increasing complaints against high cost local elections and said that democracy could not be measured with money.