The General Elections Commission (KPU) expressed concern Friday that several obstacles were threatening preparations for the April 9 legislative elections and they may not logistically be ready in time for polling day.

KPU member Abdul Aziz told The Jakarta Post the bidding process for ink and ballot seals had been delayed because the Finance Ministry have not distributed funding for the procurement of the two items.

The application deadline for the ink procurement contract was knocked back from Dec. 23, 2008 until Jan. 4, 2009 while the deal for the ballot seal procurement was extended from Dec. 22 back to Jan. 6, 2009.

"The only contract arrangement that has not been changed is that for ballot papers, because the money for the deal has always been available," Abdul said.

The KPU is responsible for arranging the ballots, ballot seals and ink. Regional election commissions are in charge of obtaining voters' registration forms, polling booths, ballot boxes and administrative equipment.

A coordination meeting between the KPU and the Home Affairs Ministry on Wednesday (Dec. 31) resulted in the government promising to hand over funding for the 2009 election on Jan. 2 or Jan. 3, Abdul said.

The KPU requested Rp 14 trillion to finance the legislative elections and the two rounds of the presidential polls, but the government only made available Rp 6.5 trillion for the preparations.

It was not until Friday evening, he said, that he heard anything about the funds being distributed, suggesting they could be delayed until Jan. 5 or beyond.

Abdul said the KPU had planned to commence production of the three items by late January, so that they could begin distributing them by February and have all polling stations across the nation equipped 10 days before the election day.

"It depends a lot on the fund distribution process by the Finance Ministry. Last year, we (the KPU) only received our budget for the 2008 fiscal year late June, although we had to start working earlier.

"We hope the government will do what it promised during the coordination meeting, and will distribute the funds in early January," he said.

To accelerate the bidding process, Abdul said, the KPU also requested the President issue a new regulation allowing the inclusion of weekends and holidays into the minimum 18 days of the tender process ruled in a 2003 presidential decree.

If weekends and holidays are not taken into account, the bid process may not be completed by late January, thus forcing the KPU to delay its schedule once more.

"If the tender process takes too long, it is likely we will have to directly appoint the firms that will be responsible for producing the items," Abdul said.

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