For a better election<\/p>\n
We may live in an imperfect world, but, as the Indonesian
\nsaying goes, we still can expect things to be better today than
\nyesterday, and for tomorrow to be better than today. Such
\nexpectations of natural progression should also apply to how we
\nview the 2004 elections.<\/p>\n
Nobody is saying that next year's elections will be perfect.
\nThis, after all, will only be the second time that we, as a
\nnation, are organizing free and fair elections since we emerged
\nfrom more than three decades of undemocratic rule in 1998.<\/p>\n
As a nation, we are perhaps still at the bottom of a long
\ncurve in learning democracy. We are still learning the ropes of
\nnation-building and what it takes to create a truly democratic
\nsociety. And we still have a long way to go.<\/p>\n
But we can, and should, expect that 2004 will be better than
\nthe 1999 elections, and going by the Indonesian saying, that
\nthings should further improve in 2009.<\/p>\n
This is the minimum expectation that this nation has in terms
\nof the national political development. Whether or not this is
\nreally the case to a large extent depends on us all. It is with
\nthis thought in mind that we should look at the House's decision
\non Monday to endorse the bill on presidential election.<\/p>\n
This latest piece of legislation joins two newly enacted laws
\n-- one on the general elections and the other on political
\nparties -- that lay the foundation for the nation's main
\npolitical agenda next year: the general elections scheduled for
\nApril, and the presidential election before October 2004.<\/p>\n
The newly endorsed bill on presidential election will still
\nhave to be signed by President Megawati Soekarnoputri before it
\nbecomes law, but given the extensive involvement of her own
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) in the
\ndeliberation of the bill, the signing is a mere formality.<\/p>\n
Most, if not all, of the contentious points have been resolved
\nby the factions in the House. The lengthy debate on these
\ncontentious points unfortunately have distracted attention from
\nwhat is probably the most significant aspect of the bill.<\/p>\n
It is therefore worth reminding the nation that this piece of
\nnew legislation is very significant because it will allow the
\npeople in this country, for the first time in Indonesia's modern
\nhistory, to directly elect their president and vice president.<\/p>\n
This, in itself, suggests that we are making significant
\nprogress, perhaps even a leap, in making ours a more democratic
\nsociety. For the first time, the people will exercise greater
\ncontrol in how this nation elects its president and vice
\npresident, a task that in the past was entrusted to elected and
\nappointed politicians in the People's Consultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
Some of us may have reservations about certain aspects of the
\nbill, but the House must still be commended for going forward,
\nand not backtracking, on the direct presidential election plan.<\/p>\n
Naturally, although they are no longer in full control of the
\noutcome of next year's presidential election, the major factions
\nin the House will still try to control the process. The incumbent
\nparties will always try to ensure that the rules of the game
\nfavor their chances over other, smaller newcomers.<\/p>\n
Thus, the debate over the last few weeks in the House focused
\nmore on whether a presidential candidate should be a university
\ngraduate, or whether or not a convicted criminal could run.<\/p>\n
The first was an obvious reference to Megawati, who is a
\ncollege dropout (and not merely a high school graduate). The
\nsecond refers to Akbar Tandjung, the House Speaker and chairman
\nof Golkar, the second largest faction after PDI Perjuangan, who
\nis fighting off a corruption conviction in the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
These were the two points that delayed the bill's endorsement,
\nand not coincidentally, affected the two largest factions in the
\nHouse. When it was finally endorsed, it came as no surprise that
\nthe House came to a compromise: Both a high school graduate and a
\nconvicted criminal can run for president.<\/p>\n
The House's compromise, and the lengthy debate and arm-
\ntwisting that went behind it, becomes a moot point. Since this
\nwill be a direct presidential election, the people will decide
\nwhether someone without a college diploma, or even someone with a
\ncriminal record, is worthy of the job.<\/p>\n
There is no doubt that the outcome of next year's presidential
\nelection will largely be in the hands of the people. The
\npolitical parties can only control the process.<\/p>\n
History is on our side when it comes to organizing free and
\nfair, and violence-free elections. Many pundits had predicted
\nthat the 1999 polls would turn ugly and violent because the
\nnation was basically not ready for democracy and differences of
\nopinions.<\/p>\n
These doomsayers were proven convincingly wrong. The 1999
\nelections were even smoother than all the six farcical elections
\nthat were held under Soeharto's rule.<\/p>\n
1999 was a watershed in Indonesian politics. It proved that we
\nas a nation are ready for democracy and can live up to the values
\nof democracy. On that note, we should all be confident that 2004
\nwill definitely be better than 1999.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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