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House questions KPU, Bawaslu selection team over screenings
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Election talk: Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) chairman Muhammad (second from right) and General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioners Arief Budiman (second from left) and Sigit Pamungkas (left) attend a hearing at the House of Representatives in Jakarta on March 21. (Antara/Puspa Perwitasari)
T
he House of Representatives grilled 11 members of the team tasked with selecting new commissioners for the General Elections Commission (KPU) and Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) over suspected poor transparency in the screening process during a hearing on Thursday.
House Commission II, which oversees home affairs, said it wanted to seek clarification over issues that had emerged in the selection process. Among the issues raised by lawmakers was why three active Bawaslu commissioners did not pass the first selection stage.
Three out of 300 candidates registered to undergo Bawaslu commissioner selection, namely Nelson Simanjuntak and Daniel Zuchron, both active commissioners, did not pass the first selection stage. Meanwhile, Bawaslu chairman Muhammad only reached the top 36.
The House is set to hold confirmation hearings for 10 Bawaslu commissioner candidates and 14 KPU commissioner candidates. Five out of 217 names registered as KPU commissioner candidates, namely Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah, Idha Budhiati, Arief Budiman, Sigit Pamungkas and Hasyim Asy’ari, are active commissioners. They reached top 14 and will be further screened.
“We want to know how the selection team measured the quality of the candidates. Why did the KPU incumbents manage to pass the first stage of the selection process, while that was not the case with the incumbent Bawaslu commissioners?” Al Muzzammil Yusuf of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said.
Commission II is scheduled to hold confirmation hearings for KPU and Bawaslu commissioner candidates on April 3 to 5 before it presents the results during a plenary session on April 6. (ebf)
