JAKARTA Indonesia's new government said on Monday it will revise restrictive electoral laws and hold fresh parliamentary elections as soon as possible in response to a clamour for change. The principle is elections as soon as possible after we prepare the laws, State Secretary Akbar Tandjung told reporters after the first cabinet meeting of new President Jusuf Habibie. Tandjung offered no time frame.

Demands for new elections have been loud since Habibie took over last Thursday from former President Suharto, driven from office by economic crisis, protests and riots which turned the ruling elite against him after 32 years in power. But legal experts say the changes and preparations for elections will take time, and it is unlikely the polls will be held before next year.

Inherent in the promise for new elections is the prospect of a new session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the body which meets every five years after parliamentary polls to elect the president and vice president. The 1,000-member MPR includes the 500 members of Parliament and military and civilian officials approved by the president. The movement for change should bring sweeping changes in Indonesia's electoral laws, which allow only three political parties to contest polls and restrict political activities to only a few weeks around election time.

We will prepare the electoral law and the political party law as soon as possible, Tandjung said. He said Habibie had discussed possible changes to the constitution with prominent lawyers and political activists at the weekend. He has discussed making political activity more free...including allowing anyone in society to form political parties and organisations, Tandjung said. (Reuter)