Traitors or saviors?<\/p>\n
Few Indonesians, if any, will deny that fraud and other
\nirregularities were committed during the recent legislative
\nelection -- a fact that has been substantiated by the General
\nElection Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu). Talk of the strong
\npossibility that fraud and violations would occur on voting day
\nhad been rife among politically literate observers and the
\ngeneral public weeks before the actual voting began on April 5.
\nSince it became clear the General Elections Commission (KPU)
\nappeared unable to overcome the host of problems it was
\nconfronted with, the door was left wide open for unscrupulous
\nballoting officials to manipulate both the ballots and the
\nvoters. The slow tally of votes that followed further
\nstrengthened voters' suspicions of fraud and manipulation.<\/p>\n
As reported earlier, Panwaslu, in a statement released on
\nMonday, validated those suspicions for at least seven voting
\nstations in the Bondowoso regency in East Java and voting was
\nrepeated. In other areas, repeat elections were held due to fraud
\ncommitted by certain parties or confusion over misaddressed
\nballoting papers. Party officials have also charged some regency
\nofficials with coercing voters to vote in favor of the political
\nparties they supported, a practice that appeared to have been
\ncommon in the Soeharto era, when coercion was the accepted means
\nto ensure an absolute majority for the ruling party in the
\nnational legislature and thereby perpetuate Soeharto's stay in
\npower.<\/p>\n
The relevant question, as far as the public is concerned, is
\nhow widespread and how significant were those irregularities? For
\ncertain, fraud and vote manipulation are difficult to prevent in
\ndemocratic elections in a country as vast and as complex as
\nIndonesia. Hence, it is reasonable to believe they did indeed
\noccur, at least to a certain extent. But to what extent they
\noccurred can only be determined after the Panwaslu issues its
\nfinal report on the matter. After all, the commission, like the
\nKPU, is an independent body with observers spread throughout the
\ncountry. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, the commission
\nis comprised of individuals of the highest personal repute. For
\nthat reason, until it issues its final report -- which can only
\nbe expected after the tallying is completed in a few more days --
\nthe best thing the Indonesian public can do is wait and refrain
\nfrom taking any hasty action.<\/p>\n
Viewed from this perspective, it is easy to understand the
\nstrong and widespread disapproval that greeted the rejection last
\nweek of the elections by 19 mostly minor political parties, as
\nmade public by two of the group's spokesmen, lawyer Adnan Buyung
\nNasution and former president Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid, of the
\nNational Awakening Party (PKB).<\/p>\n
Their critics, a range of religious and community leaders and
\nintellectuals, included such highly respected personalities as
\nProf. Azyumardi Azra and the chairman of the Indonesian Committee
\nfor Religion and Peace, Prof. Dien Syamsuddin. In a meeting on
\nSunday, they called the rejection an act of panic and \"treason
\nagainst the people\", which would only serve to confuse the
\nnation.<\/p>\n
While calling on the KPU to address the shortcomings of the
\nrecent elections, the group of critics appealed to the public to
\nchannel any complaints through the proper legal channels, as
\nprovided by the General Elections Law, and patiently await the
\nfinal results of the vote count lest undue protests upset
\nnational stability.<\/p>\n
Such fears are not unfounded at the moment. Already, the
\nJakarta Stock Market and the national currency, the rupiah --
\nthat were buoyed initially by the relatively calm and trouble-
\nfree legislative election -- reacted negatively to the rejection
\nby the \"Alliance of 19 Political Parties for the Protection of
\nthe Nation.\" What effect this rejection will have on the
\npolitical constellation in Indonesia remains to be seen. It is
\nsafe to say, however, that assuming the group remains consistent
\nin its stance, it is bound to affect analysts' projections for
\npost-election Indonesia.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/traitors-or-saviors-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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