House to get final say on new KPU members

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 08/02/2007 12:24 PM

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The House of Representatives will have the last say in selecting the final seven members of the General Elections Commission (KPU) amid widely-shared disbelief the preferred applicants did not make the top 45, House Speaker Agung Laksono said Wednesday.

Agung said new KPU members should be picked based on their experience as well as their social-political appeal.

A house team announced Tuesday the 45 applicants who made it through the written tests, which included a psychological assessment. They came from a group of 260 who had passed the administrative review.

The team will, through an interview process, select 21 applicants before submitting their names to the President, who will forward them to the House. The House will then determine the final seven.

Current KPU members Ramlan Surbakti and Valina Singka Subekti, Hadar N. Gumay of the Center for Electoral Reform, former head of the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) Didik Supriyanto, and former Home Ministry secretary-general Progo Nurdjaman failed to make the cut, leading to analysts and legislators questioning the selection methodology.

""Of course the House can refuse those who make it through and demand another selection process if it thinks there's something wrong with the process, but we'll wait until the names come in,"" said Agung.

Agung's statement was not without precedence, as in June the House picked only 11 of the 43 names submitted by the selection team for the new National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), and ordered a new process to meet the mandated 35 members, as it thought most of the candidates were not qualified.

People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nurwahid said the new members should be able to quickly learn the dynamics of holding elections and financial management to avoid corruption charges.

""There's nothing we can do if the selection team finds that these are the best applicants. The selection process is professional,"" he said.

Political observers say having one or two old faces in the new structure would smooth the transition process and that election watchdogs were good candidates.

Many of the final 45 candidates are not household names, although Jalaludin of the selection team said around half of them have had experience working with local election commissions.

""The psychological test is important to determine the integrity of a candidate. Don't underestimate new faces because they can also learn the way current members did,"" he said.

Ferry Mursyidan Baldan of House Commission II on local administrations, which will screen the final members, said they would invite the selection team to conduct the process.

""Let just carry out the process first. We'll have time and the place to scrutinize it before the final test,"" said the chairman of the committee amending the 2003 law on legislative elections.

Only three current KPU members are still active, after several others were imprisoned on graft charges or resigned. The current KPU members will end their terms this October.

New KPU members will hold their seats through elections scheduled for 2009.

Comments (0) | Post comment

A | A | A |