Ina Parlina, Jakarta – House factions are split on whether members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police should be allowed to vote in the 2014 polls.

Some politicians said 2014 would be the perfect time to allow them to vote, while others argued that such a political right among the armed forces would only hamper the nation's fledgling democracy.

Chairman of the House of Representatives' special committee tasked with deliberating the general elections bill, Arif Wibowo, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), asserted that his party strongly rejected the idea, saying that "fundamentally, as [members of the] armed state apparatus, they must be neutral".

The law was clear, he added, that they had to be non-partisan in terms of politics, as any election conflict involving them would only harm the country. "There are growing concerns that they might lapse into practical politics," he said. "Also, if they were divided into several political groups, I'd say it would only cause splits within the corps."

Committee member Abdul Malik Haramain of the National Awakening Party (PKB) confirmed that his party supported giving the TNI and the police the right to vote at the next elections, saying that the two institutions have shown their commitment to reform.

"After all, these personnel have the same rights as citizens, and granting them voting rights supports our democracy," he told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Thursday.

He dismissed public concerns that such voting rights would be misused by certain actors and those with power in the military and the police. "The right is for each individual. And I'd say they would not use it for political mobilization," he said. "Their total number is small: no more than 500,000 personnel in each institution. It is not a significant [number] for an election."

Taufiq Hidayat from the Golkar Party said his party was open to the possibility of granting voting rights. "Any concern is only because of our bitter experience with the Army in the past," he said. "We need to move on as soon as we are all ready."

He emphasized that 2014 was the perfect time for these personnel to exercise their right to vote. "We all have the same concern; so, just give them the voting rights in 2014. If it fails, withdraw it," he said.

However, Arif, speaking as the head of the committee, said his team consisting of all factions at the House tended to not want to allow the two institutions to vote in 2014.

The TNI and the police are not too eager either at the thought of being able to vote soon, although there have been cases where military or police officers are known to have openly endorsed certain political parties.

In 2004, former Banyumas Police chief Sr. Comr. Andi Mapparesa admitted during a police professional ethics board hearing on Wednesday that he had endorsed former president Megawati Soekarnoputri for reelection at a May 29 meeting in front of police officers' family members and retired police officers.

In the same year, TNI headquarters discharged a lieutenant colonel, who was allegedly responsible for authorizing the use of army vehicles to transport thousands of people from Jakarta to the Al-Zaytun Islamic school complex in West Java, where all of them voted for the Wiranto-Salahuddin Wahid pairing.