T

he debate over a planned election regulation (PKPU) that will allow convicts to run in regional elections has split political parties at the House of Representatives, with five factions pushing to scrap the proposal.

The factions — ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Democratic Party, National Mandate Party (PAN), Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and NasDem party — rallied on Monday against the proposal that would give chances for convicts placed in probation to run in regional elections and slammed Rambe Kamarulzaman, the chairman of House Commission II overseeing home affairs, for arbitrarily making a decision on the matter.

All of them accused Rambe of
the Golkar Party of forcing the PKPU regulation’s passage for the sake of his party’s interests.

Supported by Lukman Edy of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and Ahmad Riza Patria of the Gerindra Party, Rambe struck his gavel last week to officially end deliberation of the PKPU and signed that Commission II, along with the General Elections Commission (KPU), had agreed with the decision.

Under the regulation, convicts on probation are allowed to become regional electoral candidates, such as in the upcoming regional elections slated for February 2017.

The Regional Election Law currently stipulates that no convict
is allowed to run in regional elections.

The decision has also received mounting protests from election watchdogs because the provision will open the door for candidates with criminal records to become regional leaders.

PAN lawmaker Yandri Susanto said on Monday on the sidelines of a hearing between Commission II and the Home Ministry that his faction demanded that the provision be deliberated again, although the KPU said the PKPU had been published on its official website.

“We had not agreed with the decision from the beginning, but the chairman claimed on behalf of the commission [that it supported the PKPU]. It means he manipulated the hearing result,” Yandri said.

PDI-P lawmaker Arif Wibowo said the party would push to continue deliberations and annul the hearing decision. “We don’t see the decision as final. The problematic provision needs to be discussed further,” Arif said.

Another PDI-P politician Arteria Dahlan argued that the decision was forced because Golkar aimed to clear a path for one of its member on probation to join an election race.

Golkar member Rusli Habibie, the Gorontalo governor, plans to run in the province’s upcoming election as an incumbent candidate. However, the governor was sued by National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief Budi Waseso for defamation three years ago when Budi was still the Gorontalo Police chief.

In October 2015, the Gorontalo State Court ruled that Rusli was guilty and sentenced him to eight month’s jail. However, judges spared him from jail as the Criminal Code deems sentences under one year as probation.

Golkar lawmaker Tantowi Yahya did not deny that his party had a member on probation who was looking to run in a regional election, but Tantowi refused to mention a name.

“We have a member who is a convict on probation. But he has a chance to win. We should not restrict his political rights,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rambe insisted that he would not hold any more discussions about the PKPU and asked the objecting factions to file a judicial review to the Supreme Court.

The government signaled that it might be impossible to repeat the deliberation as the registration date for the candidates from political parties was just two days away.

“As long as the PKPU doesn’t violate the law, we should follow it. If it violates the law, the KPU may file a judicial review. But the case is no longer in the government’s domain,” Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said.