TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - There have been many and varied efforts to make it difficult for independent candidates to stand in regional elections. This antidemocratic endeavor began with the House of Representatives' (DPR) government commission proposing an increase in the number of statements of support needed for nomination.

Subsequently, the General Elections Commission (KPU) came up with the idea to require a duty stamp (meterai) to be attached to each letter of support for independent candidates. This seemingly contrived requirement has been included in the draft revision to KPU Regulation No. 9/2015 on Nominations for Elections of Regional Heads. It is easy to imagine the inconvenience this will cause if it obliges the use of a duty stamp on individual statements of support or those collected at the subdistrict level.

It is obvious that this is an effort to put obstacles in the way of independent candidates. Why? The Regional Elections Law clearly states that all that needs to be attached to a statement of support is a photocopy of an electronic ID card, a family card, a passport or another form of legally recognized ID.

This highly inconvenient new regulation clearly creates problems for the supporters of independent candidates. Just imagine: A duty stamp will have to be attached to every single statement of support for independent candidates. If this does become law, Rp6 billion would need to be found just in Jakarta for each independent candidate pair, or half of that total to meet the minimum requirement for the number of supporters in Jakarta. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who plans to stand as an independent in the Jakarta gubernatorial poll, was not wrong when he said that this new rule could bankrupt independent candidates.

The KPU, which seemed to take notice of public objections, then revised this requirement and now plans to only require the use of duty stamps on documents proving support at the subdistrict or village level. This still does not explain why duty stamps are needed on these collective documents. What is clear is that this rule will cause problems for independent candidates who have begun the process of seeking support by collecting copies of ID cards from the public. They will have to start the documentation process all over again.

This KPU regulation is also not right in terms of the function and aims of the duty stamps. Law No. 13/1985 on Duty Stamps states that they represent a tax document charged by the state for contracts or other documents used as evidence of an act in civil law. According to this law, a document or agreement without a duty stamp is automatically invalid.

The obligation to use a duty stamp is even stranger if we look at the stages that independent candidates have to go through. Statements of support with accompanying ID cards are verified administratively and factually. This means that all the data are handed over and checked by the KPU. Then the data are checked factually by visiting each and every supporter one by one. There is hardly any way of falsifying statements of support. So why inconvenience candidates with the requirement for a duty stamp?

Before the regulation is passed, the KPU should remove the clause requiring duty stamps. It must guarantee the right of every citizen to stand for election, including via the non-party route. This is important to avoid giving the impression that the KPU is carrying out secret orders from the parties to obstruct independent candidates. (*)

Read the full story in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine