RI may learn from foreign examples<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
For the first time in Indonesia's modern history, the country is
\nexperiencing a governmental transition after the General
\nElections Commission declared on Monday Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
\nthe winner of the Sept. 20 election runoff.<\/p>\n
Susilo will replace President Megawati Soekarnoputri for the
\n2004-2009 term.<\/p>\n
Political transition in the country has never been well
\nprepared or conducted in an orderly manner, and sometimes
\ninvolved the use of the military might.<\/p>\n
The country's founding president, Sukarno, was officially
\ndismissed in 1967 in the midst a purge initiated by the military
\nagainst suspected members of the Indonesian Communist Party
\n(PKI), one of the president's political mainstays.<\/p>\n
Sukarno's successor, Soeharto, was forced to step down after
\n32 years in power in May 1998 amid a severe financial crisis and
\nmassive student protests and was not prepared to relinquish the
\nreins of power. His vice president, BJ Habibie, assumed power in
\nline with the Constitution.<\/p>\n
In the last episode of the country's turbulent political
\ntransition, former president Abdurrahman Wahid was dismissed by
\nthe People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) for incompetence only
\nafter two years in office in 2001. The then vice president
\nMegawati took over the administration.<\/p>\n
Transition involves a power vacuum during which the outgoing
\ngovernment can no longer carry out all of its functions and the
\nincoming government is not in full possession of power.<\/p>\n
In a healthy transition, the outgoing government is considered
\npowerless either because it no longer retains its authority, or
\ndoes not wish, out of respect for democracy, to make decisions
\nthat would be binding for its successors.<\/p>\n
Experience from the United States suggests that transition is
\na cumbersome process and not all turning over of power has
\nproceeded smoothly.<\/p>\n
After Abraham Lincoln was elected president with only 39
\npercent of the vote, outgoing president James Buchanan sat idly
\nby as state after state seceded from the union. By refusing to
\nact, he apparently left Lincoln with only two options: peaceful
\ndissolution of the nation or war.<\/p>\n
What president-elects do and don't do during the interval
\nbetween their election and inauguration will also contribute much
\nto their success as president than perhaps any other decisions
\nmade by their administrations.<\/p>\n
The unexpected declaration by president-elect Bill Clinton in
\n1993 to lift the ban on homosexuals serving in the military
\nbefore he selected all his key defense and national security
\nadvisers produced months of backpedaling and drew attention and
\ntime away from the rest of his agenda.<\/p>\n
In Kenya, the victory of the opposition against the Kenya
\nAfrican National Union, which held a monopoly on power since the
\ncountry's independence, did not result in the repudiation of the
\nold forces.<\/p>\n
In late 2002, the new Kenyan administration did not embark on
\na witch-hunt against senior officials of the outgoing government.
\nSome of leading officials from the former government even got
\npositions in the new administration.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-may-learn-from-foreign-examples-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}