Friday, November 27, 2015

INDONESIA GEARS UP FOR SIMULTANEOUS REGIONAL HEAD ELECTIONS by Fardah

Jakarta, Nov 27, 2015 (Antara)- Indonesia is gearing up for the first-ever simultaneous regional head elections (pilkada) to be held in some 53 percent of its districts and municipalities across the country on December 9, 2015.
        The pilkada 2015, which is the first stage of the simultaneous pilkada, is important as the people in 269 regions will be able to simultaneously and directly elect regional heads.
         More than 800 candidates will contest in the pilkada that will elect nine governors and vice governors, 224 district heads and their deputies, and 36 mayors and their deputies.
         Of the total participating regions, three have only a single candidate each: Blitar in East Java, Tasikmalaya in West Java, and North Timor Tengah in East Nusa Tenggara.
         The government has planned to use an e-voting system in the second stage of the pilkada to be organized in 2017 and in the legislative and presidential elections in 2019.

        During a national coordination meeting on the implementation of pilkada held in Jakarta, on Nov. 12, 2015, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) expressed hope that the local elections would run smoothly and peacefully.   
    He called on all security personnel to be on alert and to take anticipatory measures in order to prevent conflicts during the elections.
         "I order every security personnel to not just play the role of a firefighter," the head of state affirmed.   
   Also present during the opening ceremony of the coordinating meeting were Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Minister/State Secretary Pratikno, Coordinating Minister for Culture and Human Development Puan Maharani, and State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief Sutiyoso.
        "Do not let a small one become bigger. Do not let a small incident embarrass us. Regardless of how small the issue is, all local police resort chiefs, prosecutors, and military chiefs must be able to detect it as soon as possible before it escalates into a bigger crisis," Jokowi stated.
         Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo informed the press that the meeting was held to consolidate the pilkada this year to democratically elect regional and deputy regional heads.
        Some potential problems to be faced during the simultaneous pilkada were also discussed in the meeting.  
   He expressed optimism that the coordination meeting would help create better synergy between the central and local governments in implementing the local elections.
        The meeting was attended by around three thousand representatives of the local General Elections Commission (KPU), Bawaslu, police officers, military personnel, and the related government institutions.
         The government has allocated Rp7.1 trillion worth of funds through regional budgets for the implementation of the pilkada.
         Kumolo has instructed the regional authorities to support and provide necessary facilities to implement the simultaneous pilkada to be organized by the KPU.
         "As the pilkada is the implementation of political decentralization," he emphasized.
          The Article 126 of Law No. 15 of 2011 on General Elections stipulates that central and regional governments must assist in the implementation of the elections in accordance with the existing regulations.
          A local government could help deploy personnel, provide election venues and means of transportation to send election logistics, and monitor the implementation of the elections, he noted.
         On a separate occasion, Minister Kumolo expressed hope that the pilkada would be held in a peaceful, safe, and democratic manner.
           Peaceful and democratic regional head elections would help promote effective and efficient relations between the central and local governments to ensure a strong regional government autonomy, Minister Kumolo informed Antara on November 15, 2015.
          The government will again discuss the revision of laws concerning regional head elections next year, according to Kumolo.
          In the meantime, Chief of the National Police General Badrodin Haiti officially opened a regional coordination meeting on the implementation of simultaneous pilkada 2015 held in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on November 23, 2015.
     "For the first time in history, Indonesia will hold simultaneous pilkada this year," General Haiti stated.
            The police chief urged security personnel to anticipate possible conflicts or violence during the local elections.
           All personnel must be ready to anticipate such incidents and focus on their respective tasks, he emphasized.
           "Every party must be committed to protecting the pilkada to make it a success," he affirmed.
           The meeting was attended by hundreds of participants representing the military, police, and local government officials as well as the candidates and executors of pilkada.
          Recently, the Sriwijaya Regional Military Command confiscated 168 firearms, including some homemade weapons, ahead of the pilkada in Lampung Province, Sumatra.
          Some factory-made rifles and guns were also among the weapons confiscated from the locals.
          They handed over the weapons to the Garuda Hitam military command post in Lampung Province, according to the spokesman of the Sriwijaya Regional Military Command Colonel Saepul Mukti Ginanjar.
           The weapons were seized from the people in the districts of Bandar Lampung, West Lampung, Tanggamus, Central Lampung, North Lampung, South Lampung, Tulangbawang, and Way Kanan in order to ensure security and stability ahead of the regional elections, he remarked.
            Ginanjar noted that the military had worked in coordination with the police to check whether the seized weapons contained guns and rifles belonging to the police.
            "The registration numbers of such weapons are just known to the police," he pointed out.
            Furthermore, some 30 foreign election commissions will monitor the implementation of the upcoming pilkada, according to KPU Chairman Husni Kamil.
          "An international activity will take place on the day of holding the pilkada on December 9, 2015, wherein 30 foreign election commissions will monitor the implementation of the elections," Kamil informed the press after reporting to President Jokowi at the State Palace on November 3, 2015.
         Foreign representative offices and relevant national institutions will also be involved in monitoring the elections, he noted.
         "There will be an election visit program. We suggest the president to officially inaugurate it on December 8. It will be followed by a workshop on the progress of democracy and sharing of experiences with other countries," he remarked.
           On December 9, the foreign observers will be taken to nearby polling stations in Depok and South Tangerang, and the visit will be followed by discussions on the processes of voting and vote counting.
           The KPU, DKPP, Bawaslu, and relevant ministries have coordinated and made preparations for the implementation of the elections.
           He, however, admitted that some problems still existed, such as issues concerning the election budget and problematic candidates.
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(f001/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 27-11-2015 12:36:44

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