KPU, PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN TEAMS DISCUSS DEBATE'S FORMAT

Jakarta, May 28 (ANTARA) - The General Elections Commission (KPU) and the campaign teams of the country's three presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs met here on Thursday to discuss the format of a scheduled debate among the candidates.

"The agenda of the meeting is to discuss the format of the presidential and vice presidential candidates' debate, the moderators, and the topics of the debate," KPU spokesman I Gusti Putu Artha said here on Thursday.

He said the KPU had already prepared a number of topics and moderators but its proposal had to be discussed with the campaign teams of the presidential and vice presidential aspirants.

"At the meeting we want to determine the format of the debate. We will present our concept to be agreed on at the meeting," he said, adding that besides discussing the format, topics, and moderators of the debate, the KPU would also use the meeting as an opportunity to inform the campaign teams about a change in the election's schedule, stages and program.

The KPU had decided to change the election schedule it had initially stipulated in KPU Regulation No 45/2009.

"The change in the election schedule is inevitable because we have to adjust it with Law No 42/2008," Putu Artha said, adding that the closed-door meeting was attended by representatives of all three presidential campaign teams.

At the meeting, the Jusuf Kalla-Wiranto campaign team was represented by Burhanuddin Napitupulu, the Megawati-Prabowo campaign team by Firman Jaya Daeli, and the Yudhoyono-Boediono campaign team by Milton Pakpahan and Choel Mallarangeng.