Independent coalition demands politicians out of Indonesia's elections commission

Independent coalition demands politicians out of Indonesia's elections commission

2010-11-26 09:35:57 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- A coalition of non-governmental organizations on Thursday demanded the Indonesian House of Representatives to cancel the membership of politicians for the General Elections Commissions (KPU), citing conflicts of interest.

"The commission should propose an alternative to the meeting result because opening the door to the KPU is a big mistake," Hadar Gumay, coordinator of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro), one of the NGOs, said.

According to the Jakarta Post, Gumay added that the opportunity to be a KPU member should be given to those who had not participated in politics for at least five years to guarantee the individual’s integrity.

A recent meeting of the home affairs commission resulted in seven of nine political parties agreeing to grant membership to politicians for the KPU. The meeting was part of the general elections organizer legislation deliberation.

Two parties, the Democratic Party and the Nation Mandate Party, did not agree with the majority. They insisted that no politician should be member of the KPU. They claimed that this action would jeopardize Indonesia’s democracy.

In addition to Cetro, the non-governmental organizations (NGO) coalition also includes Puskappol UI, Sigma Indonesia and KIPP.

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