T

he General Elections Commission (KPU) is preparing for regional head elections, slated to be held simultaneously in seven provinces and 181 regencies and cities in 2015.

KPU commissioner Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah said the first step required of the commission was to set the date for concurrent elections as stipulated by the government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) issued by former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

'€œWe have to decide the date and month so it becomes the guide,'€ he said on the sidelines of a meeting attended by KPU commissioners in Batam on Thursday.

Weeks before stepping down from office, Yudhoyono issued two Perppu regulations to reinstate direct elections for regional heads.

The previous system, which had run for a decade, was revoked in a controversial deliberation of the Regional Elections (Pilkada) Law at the House of Representatives in September, in the wake of political rivalry between President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo'€™s Great Indonesia Coalition and former presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto'€™s Red-and-White Coalition.

Presently, the Perppu is only partially effective, pending approval of the House.

KPU chairman Husni Kamil Manik said he expected a decision on the election date to be made by the end of the year at the latest.

'€œThe process [to decide the date] is still ongoing since there are many things that we have to take into consideration,'€ he said.

One consideration is the fact that the KPU has to re-design regional elections to accommodate the Perppu.

'€œFor example, the mechanism of public review is a new one [introduced in the Perppu],'€ he said.

The Perppu stipulates that a public review, aimed to reveal inadequate candidates, has to be held in each region three months before the registration of candidates.

The registration should be six months before the election day.

To decide on the date, the KPU will coordinate with the Home Ministry since the end of tenures of regional heads are different, according to Ferry.

Husni said the Home Ministry would appoint officials in charge of regions where regional heads were ending their tenures before the chosen election date.

Another difference between the upcoming concurrent elections and past regional elections is campaign budgeting.

While in the past, campaign budgeting had to be bore by the candidates, the Perppu mandates the state budget to fund campaigns through Regional/Provincial General Elections Commissions (KPUDs).

Ferry said this could lead to an increase in cost, despite the fact that a primary reason for holding simultaneous regional elections was to trim the budget.

'€œThere will be an increase as well as a decrease [in cost]. In terms of the increase, it will be caused by campaigning,'€ he said.

After the 2015 regional elections, the government will hold the next batch in the remaining regions in 2018.

'€œFor regional heads whose tenures end in 2015, their regions will have elections in 2015. For those finishing their tenures in 2016 and 2017, their regions will vote for new heads in 2018,'€ Ferry said.

After that, all provinces, regencies and cities in the country will have simultaneous regional elections in 2020.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court rejected on Thursday five review petitions into the Pilkada Law, and said the law had been suspended with the issuance of Yudhoyono'€™s Perppu.

A total of 10 petitions had been filed to challenge the controversial law. After the Perppu issuance, only five petitions had chosen to press ahead based on the argument that Yudhoyono'€™s Perppu was still waiting for House approval to be fully effective.

Attorney OC Kaligis, who represents the NasDem Party, one of the five plaintiffs, said he had expected the court decision. (ask)