Jakarta, NU Online
After a grueling debate, the House of Representatives finally ratified a regulation in-lieu-of law on voter lists at a House plenary meeting on Wednesday.
In a vote at the meeting, 186 out of the 263 legislators attending voted in favor of the ratification of the regulation; 67 legislators rejected the measure and 10 abstained.<>
There was heated debate prior to the ratification of the regulation, with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) voicing strong opposition.
The PDI-P condemned the ratification of the regulation, saying that it would merely serve to legitimize the government’s handling of the voter list fiasco.
The PDI-P estimates that 40 million voters were unable to vote because of the failure of the government and the General Elections Commission (KPU) to update the eligible voters list.
The PDI-P’s persistence in rejecting the ratification led to Wednesday’s vote because under internal House regulations, if one faction maintains its stance to reject an agreement, then a vote must take place.
“We know that we are going to lose this vote, but we have no problem with that. At least we show that we have stood by our opinion,” PDI-P caucus chairman Tjahyo Kumolo said prior to the session.
All 59 PDI-P legislators in attendance voted against the regulation.
After the vote, PDI-P legislator Hasto Kristiyanto warned that despite the ratification, the government must remember to resolve the voter list issue as soon as possible.
“This ratification does not solve the problem. We don’t want the government to forget its commitment to resolving the voter lists,” he exclaimed, as quoted by The Jakarta Post.
Max Sopacua of the Democratic Party, which strongly backed the ratification of the regulation, responded by saying that if there was still any objection regarding the issue then it should be solved in a “manly” way.
“This voting shows that a proper democratic process has taken place. If there is still an objection towards any other issues, such as a suggestion that fraud had taken place, then please act like a grown up man and bring it into the proper domain,” he said.
Another PDI-P legislator, Gayus Lumbuun, said that Max’s response showed that he did not clearly comprehend the difference between the domains of politics and law.
“A legislator’s job is to represent the people’s aspirations. We cannot go directly to the domain of law, but we can always do that indirectly in our recommendations,” he said.
“Not everyone has direct access to the law and we are the ones that can provide a bridge for the people, but it seems that some of our members do not understand that. If we are not allowed to do that, then what is the purpose of the House of Representatives?” he said.
The regulation adds two clauses to Law No. 10/2008 on General Elections. First, it authorizes the KPU to update voter lists to allow eligible but unregistered voters to vote.
It also stipulates that marking a ballot twice, once on a party’s logo and once on the photo of the candidate, is now legitimate.
The PDI-P has vowed to collect evidence of voter list fraud in a plan to challenge the election results with the Constitutional Court once the KPU officially announces the results of the April 9 legislative Election early next month. (dar)
After a grueling debate, the House of Representatives finally ratified a regulation in-lieu-of law on voter lists at a House plenary meeting on Wednesday.
In a vote at the meeting, 186 out of the 263 legislators attending voted in favor of the ratification of the regulation; 67 legislators rejected the measure and 10 abstained.<>
There was heated debate prior to the ratification of the regulation, with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) voicing strong opposition.
The PDI-P condemned the ratification of the regulation, saying that it would merely serve to legitimize the government’s handling of the voter list fiasco.
The PDI-P estimates that 40 million voters were unable to vote because of the failure of the government and the General Elections Commission (KPU) to update the eligible voters list.
The PDI-P’s persistence in rejecting the ratification led to Wednesday’s vote because under internal House regulations, if one faction maintains its stance to reject an agreement, then a vote must take place.
“We know that we are going to lose this vote, but we have no problem with that. At least we show that we have stood by our opinion,” PDI-P caucus chairman Tjahyo Kumolo said prior to the session.
All 59 PDI-P legislators in attendance voted against the regulation.
After the vote, PDI-P legislator Hasto Kristiyanto warned that despite the ratification, the government must remember to resolve the voter list issue as soon as possible.
“This ratification does not solve the problem. We don’t want the government to forget its commitment to resolving the voter lists,” he exclaimed, as quoted by The Jakarta Post.
Max Sopacua of the Democratic Party, which strongly backed the ratification of the regulation, responded by saying that if there was still any objection regarding the issue then it should be solved in a “manly” way.
“This voting shows that a proper democratic process has taken place. If there is still an objection towards any other issues, such as a suggestion that fraud had taken place, then please act like a grown up man and bring it into the proper domain,” he said.
Another PDI-P legislator, Gayus Lumbuun, said that Max’s response showed that he did not clearly comprehend the difference between the domains of politics and law.
“A legislator’s job is to represent the people’s aspirations. We cannot go directly to the domain of law, but we can always do that indirectly in our recommendations,” he said.
“Not everyone has direct access to the law and we are the ones that can provide a bridge for the people, but it seems that some of our members do not understand that. If we are not allowed to do that, then what is the purpose of the House of Representatives?” he said.
The regulation adds two clauses to Law No. 10/2008 on General Elections. First, it authorizes the KPU to update voter lists to allow eligible but unregistered voters to vote.
It also stipulates that marking a ballot twice, once on a party’s logo and once on the photo of the candidate, is now legitimate.
The PDI-P has vowed to collect evidence of voter list fraud in a plan to challenge the election results with the Constitutional Court once the KPU officially announces the results of the April 9 legislative Election early next month. (dar)
