T

here will be no significant reform in regional elections '€” either at provincial or regency/municipal levels '€” as politicians have decided to limit public involvement in the process the political parties will use to nominate leadership candidates.

A plenary meeting at the House of Representatives on Tuesday endorsed an amendment of Law No. 1/2015 on regional elections, which '€” despite the controversy that eventually forced lawmakers to return the right to elect local leaders to eligible voters instead of members of the Regional Legislative Councils (DPRD) '€” still maintained the unchallengeable power of parties to install their representatives as candidates to become regional leaders.

The limitation was possible after lawmakers decided to scrap a stipulation requiring a three-month public review by an independent committee, which according to Article 38 of the annulled law would have consisted of academics, public figures and members of the local General Election Commission (KPU).

The amended law thus grants political parties or coalitions of political parties the full power to '€œdemocratically'€ recruit candidates to run in the elections. This, according to political observer Siti Zuhro from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), can be considered a big challenge since most parties have so far failed to exercise democracy internally.

 '€œSuch a requirement for a public review should not be scrapped. It will help the search for candidates with integrity and competence [to run in the elections],'€ she said.

As the House and the government agreed to remove such a requirement, political parties thus should make assurances that they would nominate good-quality candidates, Siti emphasized.

Unlike the annulled law that allows local leaders to install their deputies, the newly endorsed law requires political parties or coalitions of political parties to each nominate one paired ticket, which critics say will allow for transactions between parties.

During the deliberation of the amendment, the majority of lawmakers from the House'€™s Commission II, which was tasked to discuss the law, expressed their preference for maintaining the power of local leaders to choose their deputies in order to prevent internal rifts.

Lawmakers then cited a quarrel between former Jakarta governor Fauzi Bowo and his deputy Prijanto when both were in office in 2012 in order to justify their preference.   

However, they changed their stance, as mentioned by lawmaker Rambe Kamarulzaman, chairman of the commission that oversaw governance, regional autonomy, state apparatus and agrarian affairs, because pairs of candidates running in the election would later be required to sign team-up pacts.

'€œBy signing an agreement to concurrently complete their job, [local] leaders and their deputies can prevent internal conflicts,'€ he said.

However, Siti saw the pact as an opportunity for horse-trading among political parties as they would seek to build alliances in endorsing tickets.

The new law also lacks stipulations that would impose punishment for practicing vote buying by candidates, although it sets limitations for campaign funds as well as on resources for all individuals who run in the elections.

Article 74 of the law limits donations to Rp 50 million (US$4,000) for individuals and to Rp 500 million for private companies.

Articles 75 and 76 of the law further details the conditions required from prospective donors in handing over their funds to support a ticket and the procedures imposed on candidates for receiving donations to finance their campaigns. However, the rest of the stipulations do not explain any punishments to be imposed on candidates who fail to follow the regulations.

Rambe said that a rigid stipulation banning vote buying was unnecessary. He also welcomed law enforcers to take action when such cases were found.