INDONESIAN ELECTIONS -- NEW COMMISSIONERS FAIL TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002843

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL, INR/EAP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM PINR ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIAN ELECTIONS -- NEW COMMISSIONERS FAIL TO
WIN PRAISE

JAKARTA 00002843 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Indonesian legislature (DPR) has
unveiled the names of the new members of the Indonesian
Elections Commission (KPU). The new commissioners are not
highly thought of--one is entangled in a corruption case--and
are widely believed to be the by-product of political
horse-trading. On the positive side, most analysts believe
the commissioners will not in fact hamper the
highly-effective KPU apparatus, which is in charge of
organizing the 2009 presidential and legislative elections.
Brief bio-data is contained in para 8. END SUMMARY.

COMPETENCE NOT KEY


2. (C) On October 3, the DPR announced the new members of the
KPU in a bizaare process. According to contacts, the process
effectively eliminated the more competent candidates by a
test which emphasized knowledge of the Indonesian political
ideology of "pancasila." There was also an unconventional
psychological test purportedly designed to screen out
unethical candidates, according to Andrew Thornley, an
American with the election-focused NGO Democratic Reform
Support Program (DRSP). DPR will now submit the names to
President Yudhoyono for what is expected to be rubber stamp
approval. The commissioners serve for one five-year term.


3. (C) Thornley told Dep Pol/C that the final 21 candidates
interviewed by DPR's Commission II (responsible for domestic
affairs) were notable for their lack of collective competence
while the final seven who were ultimately chosen were unknown
to all expert observers. No one with national KPU electoral
experience was chosen, although several have local KPU
experience. "They are the best of the worst," IFES Chief of
Party Adam Schmidt, an American, told Dep Pol/C.

ALLEGED CORRUPTION


4. (C) And among the new commissioners there seems to be at
least one potential bad apple. Revelations that this new
commissioner, Syamsul Bahri, is being investigated for
corruption by the Attorney General's Office regarding
development of a sugar industry area in Malang, East Java,
prompted elections watchdog groups to call for the DPR to
withdraw his name. Commission II reportedly is reconvening
soon to consider this issue.

A PRODUCT OF HORSE-TRADING


5. (C) Most electoral experts were surprised that respected
NGO electoral activists they assumed would be shoe-ins for
the KPU did not even make the first cut. There is also
widespread suspicion that the final selections were more a
result of political horse-trading than any other thoughtful,
deliberative process. Thornley told Dep Pol/C that he
suspected that the major political parties may have each
hand-picked one or two commissioners with connections to
their parties. Hadar N. Gumay, executive director of the
Center for Electoral Reform, and a well-qualified candidate
who was eliminated early on, said the seven had little or no
electoral experience, which indicated that they were almost
certainly chosen for their political connections.

THERE ARE POSITIVES


6. (C) On the positive side, more women are now
commissioners. The DPR insisted on a 30 percent quota and
three of the new commissioners are women. There also is more
geographical diversity, with new members from Sumatra, Bali
and South Kalimantan, in addition to Java.


7. (C) Despite the new commissioners' unproven, even poor
reputation, Schmidt pointed out that the KPU technical staff
is highly competent and should be able to do an excellent job
in organizing the upcoming elections. DRSP and other
organizations also have plans to educate the new
commissioners on electoral process management so that
hopefully the inexperienced group can be brought up to speed.
The timeframe for carrying out the 2009 elections is very
compressed, so the KPU needs to work efficiently, Schmidt
noted. Voter registration begins next year--and once a new
election law is passed--district demarcation, political party

JAKARTA 00002843 002.2 OF 002


and candidate registration, certification and candidate
challenges will follow in short order.

BRIEF BIO-DATA


8. (U) Brief bio-data on the seven new members follows:

-- Prof. H. Abdul Hafiz Anshary Az, age 51, professor at the
Antasari Islamic State University in Banjarmasin, South
Kalimantan, since 2002; previously Chairman of South
Kalimantan Election Commission (2003 -2005); BA from Faculty
of Islamic Court, Antasari Islamic State University,
Banjarmasin, 1982; doctorate degree in Islamic Civilizations
from Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University, Jakarta,

2000.

-- Sri Nuryanti, age 37, currently Executive Director of
Research Institute for Democracy and Peace (RIDEP) and
researcher on political issues at the Indonesian Institute of
Sciences (LIPI); previously LIPI elections research
coordinator; BA from Faculty of Political and Social
Sciences, Gadjah Mada University, 1993; masters in Asian
Studies, Australian National University, 2001.

-- Endang Sulastri, age 42, currently a member of the working
group on Women's Political Participation at the Ministry of
Women's Empowerment and lecturer at the Faculty of Political
and Social Sciences, Muhammadiyah University Jakarta; BA in
Governance Studies from Gadjah Mada University,1991; masters
in Political Science, University of Indonesia, 2003.

-- I Gusti Putu Artha, age 41, member of Bali Provincial
Election Commission since 2003; presenter and producer at
Bali TV (2001-2002); BA Faculty of Agriculture, Udayana
University, Bali; masters in Social Development, Udayana
University, 2007.

-- Prof Dr Ir H Syamsul Bahri, 52 years old, head of Research
Institute at Brawijaya University, Malang, East Java, since
2005; expert staff for East Java Regional Parliament; BA
Brawijaya University, 1980; masters Padjadjaran University,
West Java, 1986; doctorate in agriculture Airlangga
University in Surabaya, East Java, 1997.

-- Andi Nurpati, 41 years old, lecturer at State Madrasah
(high school) in Bandar Lampung since 1996; previously member
of Lampung Provincial Election Supervisory Committee, 2004;
BA Alauddin Islamic State University in Makassar, 1992;
postgraduate course from Deakin University, Melbourne, 2000;
masters in education technology Lampung University, 2006.

-- H Abdul Aziz, 53 years old, researcher at Research and
Development Body and Training Center at Ministry of Religious
Affairs since 2005; previously Director of Islamic Studies
Development for Public Schools and Director of Islamic
Studies Education and Pesantren; bachelor degree in Arabic
Language and Culture from Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State
University in Jakarta, 1981; masters in Anthropology and
Sociology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, 1992.

HEFFERN