Cetro fights for direct presidential elections<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A coalition of 12 organizations campaigning for
\na direct presidential election system in 2004 is taking its
\nbattle to the corridors of the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR) which convenes its Annual Session this week.<\/p>\n
The coalition grouped under the Center for Electoral Reform
\n(Cetro) has set up an office at the business center of Hotel
\nMulia, where many of the 700 MPR members are staying for their
\n12-day annual session.<\/p>\n
Cetro coordinator Smita Notosusanto admits that the coalition
\nfaces an uphill struggle, with most MPR factions either rejecting
\nthe proposed direct presidential election system, or accepting a
\ncombination that essentially still gives the MPR the right to
\nscreen or elect the president.<\/p>\n
As of Friday, Cetro only has the support of the National
\nAwakening Party (PKB), a minority faction in the Assembly.<\/p>\n
There are signs that other small factions, including the
\nMuslim-oriented United Development Party (PPP), will hop on the
\ncoalition's bandwagon.<\/p>\n
Cetro has dismissed PDI Perjuangan from its campaign,
\ndescribing the MPR's largest faction as being \"very hostile\" to
\nthe cause.<\/p>\n
The campaign will instead target MPR members from Golkar, the
\nsecond largest faction, which has sufficient numbers to bolster
\nthe chances of success if the matter is put to a vote.<\/p>\n
\"We will use guerrilla warfare tactics,\" Smita said.<\/p>\n
The coalition will deploy activists from the member
\norganizations to approach MPR members during the gathering.<\/p>\n
One of these groups is the Movement for the Empowerment of
\nWomen's Voices (GPSP), consisting mostly of women.<\/p>\n
\"They are my secret weapons,\" Smita said.<\/p>\n
Smita believes that there is still a fair chance that the MPR
\nmight opt for a direct presidential election system.<\/p>\n
Besides receiving and debating President Abdurrahman Wahid's
\nprogress report for his first 10 months in office, the MPR will
\nalso endorse a second series of constitutional amendments and a
\nhost of new MPR decrees.<\/p>\n
The MPR working committee has endorsed a set of proposals to
\namend the 1945 Constitution. A major sticking point will be the
\nelectoral procedure for the president and vice president in 2004.<\/p>\n
The current indirect election system allows political parties
\nto form coalitions which could defeat even the largest political
\nparty in the Assembly.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman won the election in October although his
\nPKB faction only came fourth in the general election in June. PDI
\nPerjuangan, which came first in the election, had to settle for
\nthe vice presidency.<\/p>\n
Megawati's defeat, despite winning the general election four
\nmonths earlier, has spawned a debate to review the system, with a
\ndirect presidential election seen as an alternative.<\/p>\n
The indirect system is only workable under a parliamentary
\nsystem and not a presidential system, Smita said.<\/p>\n
Most presidential governments in the world use the direct
\nelection system and Indonesia is one of only six countries which
\nuses the indirect system. The other five -- Botswana, Libya,
\nIraq, Eritrea and South Africa -- could hardly be considered a
\nmodel for a democratic system, she said.<\/p>\n
Smita did not include the United States, which elects its
\npresident through an electoral college, in the list.<\/p>\n
Under the indirect system, the executive branch of government
\ncan be held hostage by the legislative branch, she said, noting
\nthat this was one of the problems confronting Abdurrahman and one
\nwhich has undermined the strength of his government.<\/p>\n
The MPR working committee has received four different
\nproposals with regard to the presidential election mechanism:<\/p>\n
* A pure direct election system (proposed by PKB).<\/p>\n
* Maintaining the existing system (supported by the Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) faction).<\/p>\n
* A combination of the two, with candidates screened by MPR
\nprior to the election (proposed by the Reform faction).<\/p>\n
* A combination of the two, with candidates elected directly
\nby the people but having to pass MPR screening afterwards
\n(proposed by PDI Perjuangan).<\/p>\n
Cetro insists on eliminating any MPR role in the election to
\neliminate \"money politics\" and \"horse trading\" practices.<\/p>\n
The coalition began its campaign in February by House members
\nto find allies for its cause.<\/p>\n
In May, it launched a nationwide media blitz, calling on the
\npublic to write to the Assembly or their political parties
\nexpressing support for a direct presidential election system.<\/p>\n
The campaign irked the Assembly and factions in the MPR
\nbecause their fax machines were immediately swamped by messages
\nfrom the public responding to Cetro's appeal.<\/p>\n
When they turned the machines off, Cetro responded by urging
\nthem to keep the fax machines open and listen to the aspirations
\nof the people. \"We even supplied them with facsimile paper,\"
\nSmita recalled.<\/p>\n
\"By last week, we had collected more than 10,000 responses
\nthrough faxes, e-mails, and letters,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Cetro has also conducted a nationwide polling to determine the
\nextent of its support, and found that 75 percent of the people in
\nthe country support direct presidential elections.<\/p>\n
\"The people are ready for it. I can't say the same about the
\npolitical elite though,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The proposal for a direct presidential election system comes
\nin a package of reforms to ensure that the elected president
\ncould not abuse the legitimacy given directly by the people.<\/p>\n
The package includes the establishment of a bicameral
\nparliament consisting of lower and upper houses -- whose members
\nare all elected by the people -- and a restructuring of the
\nparliament, including granting it the power to impeach the
\npresident.<\/p>\n
Smita said Indonesia would do well in following the Nigerian
\nelectoral system which uses the proportional principle. In
\nNigeria, candidates must win more than 50 percent of the votes
\nand at least 25 percent of the votes in two-thirds of the states.<\/p>\n
This system would force the candidates to look for support
\nfrom as many regions as possible.<\/p>\n
The simple majority system, used in the Philippines, would be
\ndangerous for Indonesia because of the strong anti-Javanese
\nsentiments found on other islands.<\/p>\n
Smita admitted that this system, if it had been used last
\nOctober, could have given victory to Golkar's candidate, the
\nincumbent president B.J. Habibie, because the party, which ruled
\nfor 32 years, still had the largest network in the regions.<\/p>\n
She pointed out that in many former communist countries in
\nEastern Europe, communist parties have been returned to power
\nthrough democratic elections.<\/p>\n
She dismissed those who fear a Golkar comeback as \"having
\nlimited vision\".<\/p>\n
\"We have to believe in the system ... that it would create a
\ngood system and hopefully a good result,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She pointed out that Golkar's chances of winning the 2004
\nelection was small, and that the party was currently racked by
\ninternal power struggles between the so-called Black Golkar and
\nWhite Golkar.<\/p>\n
Golkar also has no presidential candidate since its chairman
\nAkbar Tandjung ruled himself out of the race, leaving the field
\nfor the 2004 election, at least at this stage, between PDI
\nPerjuangan's Megawati and the Reform faction's Amien Rais.<\/p>\n
Asked about the coalition's plan if the MPR fails to endorse
\nthe direct election system, Smita said the campaign would
\ncontinue, targeting the 2001 meeting of the MPR, or the
\nsubsequent year if it failed again..<\/p>\n
\"There is still time before the 2004 election,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"It would be even better for our campaign if there is an
\nExtraordinary Session of the MPR before next year. We will submit
\nour proposal quickly,\" she said. (emb)<\/p>",
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