Candidates vying for top posts in regencies and municipalities in elections this year in Papua and West Papua do not need an endorsement letter from the Papua People’s Assembly, the elections commission says.
“The elections, which will be contested in 21 regencies and municipalities across Papua and West
Papua this year, will be organized based on a 2004 law and does not require the Assembly’s recommendation,” Papua General Elections Commission (KPUD) head Benny Sweni said after meeting with Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu in Jayapura on Friday.
Sweni’s comments contradict the KPUD’s earlier stance, which initially supported the Assembly’s decree that candidates must be Papuan natives.
The decree, which was issued by the Assembly following a meeting on March 9, gained support from Papua’s deputy governor and representatives of the Papua and West Papua legislative councils.
“The 2009 Assembly Decree was issued based on an article in a 2001 law that stipulates that native Papuans should be given priority in the political recruitment process. Prioritizing Papuans doesn’t
mean non-Papuans can’t get an opportunity. The governor has called for the elections to be organized in accordance with the 2004 law,” Sweni said.
Suebu, he added, would not issue a decree supporting the Assembly. “Governor Suebu said what concerned him most was not the issue of indigenous Papuans, but democratic betrayal. So the elections in Papua should be held according to existing regulations,” Sweni said.
He added that because of popular opinion, Suebu would meet with the Papua legislature and Assembly.
Cenderawasih University Rector Bert Kambuaya called on the governor, legislature and Assembly to immediately issue a special bylaw regulating the political rights of indigenous Papuans in the elections.
“There’s only two positions up for grabs, the regent and deputy regent. Why is it so difficult to formulate a regulation so that the post be given to native Papuans, while the other posts can be filled by outsiders,” Kambuaya said Friday.
Kambuaya urged all parties to appropriately implement the Special Autonomy Law because its
main goal was to empower native Papuans.
“We shouldn’t argue about the legality of the ruling, but we need to immediately do something so the special autonomy mandate can be implemented well and empower Papuans,” he said.