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Watchdog urges House to pass election bill
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Cast your vote: Jakarta residents prepare to cast their ballots at polling station TPS 4 Glodok in Tamansari, West Jakarta, during the Jakarta gubernatorial election on Feb. 15. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
T
iti Anggraini, the director of elections watchdog Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), has said the House of Representatives should pass the election bill into a law as soon as possible to ensure that all stages of the 2019 presidential and legislative elections run as scheduled.
She deplored the House’s failure to pass the bill into a law again last Thursday.
“The legislators have missed the deadline twice. They promised to finish the bill on April 28, but they missed the schedule due to a deadlock in the [election bill] special committee. They promised to finish it by May 18 but they missed it again,” Titi said during a discussion in Cikini, Central Jakarta, on Saturday.
The analyst said completing the election bill was a substantial and complex issue. However, both the government and the House seemed to be complacent about the results of the 2014 elections, making them a little recalcitrant in preparing the election bill for the 2019 elections.
Titi said the General Elections Commission (KPU) would need time to adapt to the new regulations. Political parties also must prepare themselves for the new requirements while voters would need to receive sufficient information about the election system.
“Missing the deadline will disrupt the KPU’s preparations,” she said. “Passing the law on time is important for the House’s credibility,” she added. (dis/ebf)
