Grassroots excel in democracy<\/p>\n
Today is the first of a three-day of cooling-off period prior
\nto Monday's legislative election. Jakartans and residents of
\nother big cities across the country may heave a sigh of relieve.
\nGone is the noisy traffic congestion caused by carnivals of
\nmotorized party supporters. Gone is the scene of party supporters
\non motorbikes, wearing green, red, yellow, white or other party
\ncolor on their T-shirts carrying party flags running the traffic
\nlights.<\/p>\n
A feeling of relieve may also felt by many Indonesians
\nthroughout the archipelago. Except a few minor incidents, the
\ncampaign has been carried out relatively peacefully.<\/p>\n
The number of casualties is very low in the 22-day campaign
\nperiod. The much feared riots or clashes between party supporters
\nthat usually accompany political campaigning did not materialize.
\nOnly around ten people died so far, mostly caused by accidents,
\ncompared to 237 in 1997 elections and 174 in 1999 elections. Most
\nof the victims in the last two instances died of clashes with
\nother party supporters.<\/p>\n
What makes the changes? Optimists say that party supporters
\nare learning that it is right to be different. The traditional
\nattitude of perceiving supporters from other parties as enemies
\nmay have started to erode. But to conclude that today's party
\nsupporters are more ready to accept differences is perhaps too
\nhasty. Nevertheless, the lower rate of victims is an encouraging
\nsign.<\/p>\n
Pessimists say that the tradition of attendance payments are
\nmore wide spread today. The number of so-called professional
\nsupporters, those who join the campaign in support of any party
\nfor money, is on the increase. Surely they have no emotional ties
\nwith the parties they are campaigning for. Hence, the absence of
\nthe needs to be hostile to supporters of other parties who might
\nalso be \"paid supporters\". It is difficult to gauge now which one
\nof the two opinions, the optimist or the pessimist, is closer to
\ntruth.<\/p>\n
Kudos should go to the supporters, first of all, since they
\nare the ones who rub their shoulders with other supporters.
\nEncouragement from party leadership may or may have not
\ninfluenced their constituents in a positive way. Compare this
\nwith clashes among the elite, notably between President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri and her top security minister Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono, or internal leadership rifts in major parties like
\nGolkar and the Nation Awakening Party (PKB).<\/p>\n
Credit is also due to the police force who have the courage to
\npunish violators, especially traffic violation cases committed by
\nparty supporters. It is a far cry from the 1999 elections when
\npolicemen seemed to be powerless in front of violators. At that
\ntime the image of the military, including the police which were
\nonly detached from the military in 2000, was at its lowest ebb.<\/p>\n
How wonderful it would be if party supporters taking part in
\nstreet campaign will one day abide by traffic rulings, thereby
\nallowing other road users to exercise their rights.<\/p>\n
So far so good as far as the elections is concern. But it is
\nstill a long way to go. This is just the first stage of the
\nelection. There will be a presidential election on July 5 and
\npossible run-off elections on Sept. 20. It is our hope that the
\nfollow-up elections will also be as peaceful.<\/p>\n
There are other reasons why this year's campaigning is
\nencouraging. Past diversions seem to be on decline. Religious
\nhypes, xenophobism, primordialism, regionalism in political
\nrhetorics seemed to be on the wane.<\/p>\n
Islam, a popular topic in the past, is almost a non-issue
\ntoday, especially in urban areas. The erstwhile statements
\ntouching on Islam were largely confined in street banners.
\nMoreover, not a single party seems to purposely pick up religious
\ntheme. Anti-foreign rhetorics were also absence. The same with
\nissues related to ethnicity and regionality.<\/p>\n
Certainly there are still a lot of weaknesses. The logistics
\nissue, for example, has been controversial from the start. But
\ndidn't we have an independent General Elections Commissions (KPU)
\nfor the first time now? Being a new independent institution
\nKPU of course have its weaknesses. But it certainly is much
\nbetter with the 1999 KPU which had elements from political
\nparties. Often they fought over menial matters like salaries,
\ncars and others. Today's KPU has yet to become a good team player
\nwith regional commissions (KPUD) and the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Democracy takes a long time to grow. This is just the
\nbeginning. Indonesia has just come out of a repressive regime six
\nyears ago. What we have now is an immature democracy, especially
\namong the elite, but a step forward, however small, is
\nencouraging at the very least.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/grassroots-excel-in-democracy-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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