Poll campaign should educate people: Experts<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Prominent political observers yesterday
\ngathered here to discuss strategies for improving election
\ncampaigns so they educate rather than exploit people.<\/p>\n
Koento Wibisono, Muladi, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Moh. A.S. Hikam
\nand Riswandha Imawan were among the experts who spoke at the
\nmeeting was held by the National Council for Defense and
\nSecurity.<\/p>\n
The council was seeking ways to ensure that the general
\nelection, scheduled for May 1997, proceed successfully, orderly,
\nsafely and without unrest, said its secretary-general, Lt. Gen.
\n(ret) Soekarto.<\/p>\n
Community leaders, government officials and representatives
\nfrom the political organizations contesting the election -- the
\nruling Golkar, the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP),
\nand the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), attended
\nthe meeting.<\/p>\n
Koento, former rector of state-run Sebelas Maret University in
\nSurakarta, said past general elections have failed to politically
\neducate people. \"The next election should be an improvement, and
\nit should enlighten the people,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Participants agreed that outdoor campaign rallies should be
\nlimited and gradually replaced with campaigns which stress
\ndialog between the contestants.<\/p>\n
Muladi, rector of the Diponegoro University in Semarang,
\nagreed that rallies in past elections had often turned violent
\nand usually went hand-in-hand with cheating, manipulation and
\n\"political malpractice\".<\/p>\n
Constitutional law expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra agreed. There
\nhad been instances when members of the public had been subjected
\nto rampant violations of good campaign ethics, and had suffered
\n\"political intimidation\" by state officials.<\/p>\n
\"Even university lecturers who were appointed legislature
\ncandidates by PPP and PDI have been intimidated,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Hikam, an Indonesian Institute of Sciences researcher,
\nregretted that not all candidates reacted enthusiastically to the
\nproposed changes to election campaigning.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Nursyahbani Katjasungkana suggested that the term
\n\"dialogs\" be defined clearly. \"It shouldn't be a mere euphemism.
\nFor instance, the council is trying to replace the term
\nmobilization of people, with public gathering. There's no real
\ndifference between the two terms,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Riswandha, a Gadjah Mada University lecturer, focused his
\nanalysis on the meaning of \"campaign\". \"To campaign is to
\nconvince people to join in something that we believe in. The
\ncurrent electioneering practice, where political contestants
\ngather to their own supporters, is not actually campaigning,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He supported the call for more dialogs, rather than outdoor
\nrallies, in election campaigning. \"Our people have become more
\ncritical,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The government would find it difficult to replace the
\ntraditional outdoor rallies with dialogs, he said. \"For the past
\n30 years, people have been made apolitical. Now they are told to
\ntake active part in election, how can that be?\" he said.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto called last month for new regulations on
\nelection campaigning to prevent the chaos and violence of past
\nelections. He suggested that campaigns should no longer be staged
\nas shows of strength.<\/p>\n
Soeharto asked the National Council for Security and Defense
\nto draft new regulations on campaigning for the 1997 general
\nelection. The council, made up of retired military officers,
\nadvises the President on state matters.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the council suggested outdoor rallies be
\nlimited and convoys of political supporters on motorbikes or
\ntrucks be banned. Rallies should be replaced by public debates
\nat sites appointed by political contestants and the General
\nElections Institute.<\/p>\n
Electoral law restricts campaigning to a 25-day period. Next
\nyear campaigning is scheduled to begin on April 29 and end on May
\n23. There is normally a seven day cooling-off period before
\nelection day, which is scheduled for the end of next May.<\/p>\n
The council has suggested the campaign period should last 27
\ndays, with a cooling off period of five days. (30\/swe)<\/p>",
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