The president is not available to issue a Perppu."Bogor (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will not issue a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) to address the problem in regions having one candidate pair in the simultaneous regional head elections, the chief election organizer stated.
"The president is not available to issue a Perppu," Chairman of the General Elections Commission (KPU) Husni Kamil Manik noted at the Bogor Presidential Palace here on Wednesday.
Manik attended Wednesdays consultation meeting between President Jokowi, Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla, and the leaders of state institutions at the Bogor Palace.
The KPU chairman remarked that during the consultation meeting, he shed light on the results of a previous coordination meeting held between the KPU, the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), and the Elections Organizers Ethics Council (DKPP). The meeting was held to discuss the latest developments regarding the simultaneous regional head elections on December 9, 2015.
"The registration of candidates has been closed on Augusts 3, 2015. But, there are seven districts/municipalities that have registered only one pair of candidates. Based on Law No.8/2015, each region must have at least two pairs of candidates. There is no other regulation regarding that matter, while the existing law stipulates that the elections must, in principle, be held," he affirmed.
Therefore, the KPU is aware of the discourse, which suggests that the problem should be solved through the issuance of a Perppu.
Manik revealed that two conclusions were reached during Wednesday mornings coordination meeting, one of which was that the KPU had no room to take the initiative to revise the regulations.
"The second conclusion is that a Perppu is needed when there is no other way out," he emphasized.
However, he noted that during a later discussion, whose outcome was also brought up during the consultation meeting with the president, reached a solution wherein the problem can be solved with the issuance of a Perppu or with the authority of the Bawaslu based on Law No.15/2011 and Law No. 8/2015.
Based on the laws, Bawaslu has the authority to revise a policy, which has been implemented by the KPU. "The authority is in the form of a recommendation," Manik noted.
Therefore, his side suggested that Bawaslu should respond to the problem by issuing a recommendation, and this matter was also reported during the consultation meeting with the president.
Manik added that after the Bawaslu had put forth a recommendation, the KPU would respond to it and would tend to matters, which had caught the attention of the Bawaslu.
"For the time being, this has become a way out. After all, the president is not available to issue a Perppu," the KPU chief stated.
On the occasion, Bawaslu Chairman Muhammad stated that his office will hold a plenary meeting on Wednesday evening to discuss important matters as the registration of regional head election candidates has been closed.
"Bawaslu has to soon take actions with regard to the prevailing constraints. After this meeting, we will immediately hold a plenary meeting to decide whether Bawaslu has to issue a recommendation or whether it has other opinions regarding the seven regions that could not organize the elections since they only have one pair of candidates," Muhammad remarked.
On the possibility of extending the period of registration, Muhammad is of the view that it could be one of the points that might be taken into consideration.
"We will look into the pros and cons of what has grabbed the attention of the election organizers. We will also accommodate the aspirations of the people through their political parties," the Bawaslu chairman noted.
(Uu.A014/INE/KR-BSR/B003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
