Elected for the people?<\/p>\n
At least nine individuals have registered their candidacy for
\nJakarta governor with the secretariat of the Jakarta Council to
\nreplace incumbent Sutiyoso, whose term ends in October. Many
\nparties have voiced opposition to Sutiyoso's reelection due to
\nhis ubiquitous failures, especially his inability to foresee and
\nprevent the devastating flood that inundated Jakarta in February.<\/p>\n
Many may welcome the emergence of new gubernatorial
\ncandidates, feeling that the city is in need of meaningful
\nchange. At the very least we can all hope that it will end the
\ndominance of the military in the capital city, which started in
\nthe 1950s. The present-day reality demonstrates to foreign
\ncountries that Indonesia is still under military dictatorship. It
\nis no longer valid to mention the military-civilian dichotomy
\nbecause out of all of the governors to have governed the capital
\ncity, only Ali Sadikin, a marine lieutenant general, did so
\nsuccessfully. He was in turn loved by his people.<\/p>\n
However, many others regard the registration of gubernatorial
\ncandidates as a mere formality because only the City Council has
\nthe right to elect a governor, and it is only natural that party
\nfactions in the council would nominate their own candidates.<\/p>\n
The new regulation on gubernatorial elections, which was
\npassed by the council on Monday and limits public involvement in
\nthe electoral process, is a mere show of democracy.<\/p>\n
In the minds of the councillors, the new system is a good way
\nto find the best figure to govern the capital city of 10 million
\npeople. The regulation, they say, is a result of comparative
\nstudies held in the provinces of North Sulawesi and the newly
\nformed province of Bangka-Belitung, in southern Sumatra. Each
\nfaction, according to the new system, can nominate a candidate
\nfor governor and deputy governor. Any incumbent governor or
\nregent or mayor, as long as he or she is endorsed by the council
\nof his or her region, can also run. In the case of an active
\ngovernor, a green light from the head of state is also required.<\/p>\n
So, what's new with the latest system, which appears to be a
\nproduct of the reform era? Perhaps very little is new because
\nopens the possibility of money politics and horse-trading, which
\nwas a trademark of the old system. More importantly, there is no
\npossibility of public participation in the new system.<\/p>\n
The idea of holding a direct gubernatorial election, as
\nproposed by non-governmental organizations, has been shamefully
\nignored. And there is no chance of the subdistrict councils
\n(Dewan Kelurahan) -- which have been the pride of the city
\nbecause they were democratically elected -- to channel the
\npeople's aspirations.<\/p>\n
Article 24 of the regulation states that the council may
\naccept complaints against an elected governor from the public,
\nbut they should be filed through leaders of registered
\norganizations within three days after the election.<\/p>\n
The public's opportunity to report money politics is even more
\nlimited as Article 27 states that the council will decide whether
\nthe complaint is valid if it is accompanied by written
\ntestimonies from more than one councillor.<\/p>\n
For many Jakarta citizens, a drastic change in the
\ngubernatorial election is imperative because the people want to
\nsee change. Not one of the six military governors who ruled
\nJakarta in the past were democratically elected -- all of them
\nwere appointed during the despotic Soeharto regime -- and only
\nAli Sadikin was capable. The rest did not count for much, and the
\npeople had no right to voice their grievances.<\/p>\n
Since the problem of the gubernatorial election is a national
\nissue the House of Representatives should revamp the old laws,
\nwhich are anathema to the spirit of reform and democracy.
\nAspiring for direct gubernatorial elections is not a pipe dream
\n-- after all, the government recently accepted a demand by the
\nseparatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to hold a general and
\ngubernatorial election in the restive province in 2004.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/elected-for-the-people-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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