T

he General Elections Commission (KPU) will seek to revise an existing regulation under its authority following a recent Constitutional Court (MK) ruling that has invalidated a clause in the 2015 Regional Elections Law, which analysts said could help the formation of political dynasties in the regions.

The court ruling, to respond to a judicial review by South Sulawesi Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) member Adnan Purichta Ichsan, negates Article 7 (r) of the law that restricts family members of an incumbent governor or mayor from participating in the upcoming simultaneous regional elections, scheduled to kick off on Dec. 9.

With the ruling, it is expected that incumbents could consolidate their influence in their respective electoral districts. The court, on the other hand, argued that the provision was a violation of the constitutional rights of citizens.

KPU commissioner Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah said that the election body would look to reinforce the legal basis that would prevent conflicts of interest with regard to the registration of incumbents and their affiliates in the upcoming elections.

'€œWe respect the Constitutional Court'€™s decision, so we'€™ll look to revise KPU Regulation No. 9/2015 [instead]. The stipulation regarding incumbents'€™ conflicts of interest needs to be defined as soon as possible,'€ Ferry said during a press briefing in Central Jakarta on Saturday.

Ferry said, however, that the KPU should not be the only party tasked with cracking down on incumbents taking advantage of regulations.

He said that other stakeholders should also be involved.

Besides laying the legal foundation for the prevention of possible conflicts of interest, he called on the public to monitor the internal recruitment process within political parties for regional head candidates.

'€œTo ensure the quality of the regional elections, we have to safeguard the political recruitment process [...] There has to be a commitment on the part of political parties to adhere to the democratic process and back a candidate based on his or her track record,'€ he said.

'€œIf there are incumbents [or their affiliates] wishing to run again in the elections, political parties need to be more selective in making their choices, whether in terms of credibility or legal standing, such as indications of foul play,'€ Ferry said.

The deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission II overseeing home affairs, Ahmad Riza Patria, underscored the importance of the public scrutinizing the activities of incumbent regional heads and their political party affiliates ahead of the registration period.

Riza said that in spite of the court ruling, political parties played key roles in keeping the rise of political dynasties in check.

He said that it was up to political parties to screen for highly qualified and credible candidates. '€œWe want to give a chance for the best candidates out there to run [in the election],'€ he said.

Constitutional law expert Irman Putra Sidin said that parties needed to be careful in screening candidates based on their familial background.

'€œWe can agree that incumbents are prone to misusing their authority [to benefit themselves in the upcoming election], but don'€™t let that assumption dictate the norm for other cases like family or political ties,'€ Irman said on Saturday.

Irman said that credibility needed to be the yard stick for screening candidates, even if there was a potential conflict of interest.

He said the problems of incumbency could be overcome if political parties maintained a steady hand in choosing the right candidates.

'€œWe have to remember that it is up to the parties to nominate a candidate, and not the incumbent. That'€™s why it is the party'€™s task to find credible candidates,'€ he said.