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| ^^ The DPD Induction in Session on 29 September in Jakarta. |
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| ^ CDI Deputy Director Mr Quinton Clements and NDI Senior Program Officer Theresia Joice Damayanti at the induction in Jakarta. |
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^ (l to r) Theresia Joice Damayanti, Quinton Clements, DPRD Kota Bekasi Chairman J Putro and 2 Members. |
2009 Indonesian Parliamentary Induction Program Underway in Jakarta
The House of Regional Representatives of the Indonesian Parliament – Dewan Perwakilan Daerah - Republik Indonesia (DPD) – held the first stage of its induction program for new parliamentarians at the Sultan Hotel in Jakarta on 29-31August 2009, following the parliamentary elections of 9 April 2009. The Induction was organised by the DPD Secretariat General, and was attended by all 101 newly elected Members, along with a number of the re-elected Members of the 132 seat House.
The three-day program focused on the role of the DPD, which was created as part of a series of constitutional reforms completed in 2003 with the aim of giving the regions a greater role in the legislative process at the national level in Indonesia. Several sessions were devoted to examining the current role of the DPD as an advisory body with quite limited areas of responsibility and the efforts of the DPD to strengthen its role in the legislative process. Further sessions of this first stage induction involved panel presentations from each of the four Ad Hoc Committees and the Bill Drafting Committee of the DPD on their respective roles and work over previous five years. Each presentation was followed by a lively discussion period.
The second stage of the DPD induction program is scheduled to occur from 28-30 September 2009, immediately prior to the commencement of the next term of Parliament (2009-2014) on 1 October 2009 with the inauguration of Members of both Houses of the Indonesian parliament.
Over recent months CDI has been assisting both the DPD and the Indonesian House of Representatives –Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, Republik Indonesia (DPR) – with their respective 2009 parliamentary induction programs. Broadly, CDI has advised and assisted the Secretaries General and political leadership of both Houses with the design and delivery of their induction programs, including the drafting of the programs.
The DPR plans to hold its induction program for newly elected Members in October 2009 in Bogor following postponement of its induction program, originally scheduled for August 2009, because of delays in the official announcement of election results by the General Elections Commission (KPU). The KPU announced the final results on 2 September 2009 following a ruling by the Constitutional Court on all outstanding electoral disputes.
In addition to attending the DPD induction program in Jakarta in August, and associated meetings with the Secretaries General, senior officials, and political leadership of both Houses of the Indonesian parliament, CDI Deputy Director Mr Quinton Clements also held discussions on upcoming CDI programs for Indonesia with a range of stakeholders including the UNDP and the Asia Foundation.
In addition to working at the national level, CDI also works with sub-national parliaments, and as part of planning for future CDI parliamentary strengthening work in Indonesia, Mr Clements also visited two assemblies at the provincial and district level (DPRD-I and DPRD-II) while \in Jakarta, namely, the Jakarta Provincial Assembly and the Bekasi District Assembly.
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