1997 election may face crisis of legitimacy: Critic

SURABAYA, East Java (JP): The Independent Election Monitoring Committee warned over the weekend that unless the government is able to resolve the country's current political crises, next year's general elections will face a crisis of legitimacy.

The chief of the unrecognized poll watchdog, Goenawan Mohamad, said in a seminar here on Saturday that something must be done about the ongoing leadership rift between Megawati Soekarnoputri and Soerjadi, both of whom claim to lead the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) though only Soerjadi has received the government's blessing.

In the seminar "Elections, Human Rights and Democracy", Goenawan also cited the riots which followed the forced takeover of the PDI headquarters by Soerjadi supporters on July 27 as an issue to be dealt with fairly.

He warned of the tremendous psychological scar that has been left by the conflict and the ensuing riots. He then pointed to the hunt for a number of university activists whose organizations, including the Democratic People's Party, have been blamed for the riot.

He thus reiterated his call for the 1997 general elections to be postponed.

"As long as there is no reconciliation between Megawati and Soerjadi, it will be hard to imagine or predict the next election," Goenawan told The Jakarta Post after the seminar.

He added that the consequences might even be more difficult to contain.

"I'm really worried that if the situation persists and the election goes ahead...that it could result in even larger social costs. That's why it is best for us to resolve the PDI situation first," he suggested.

Goenawan is the former editor-in-chief of Tempo magazine, which was banned by the government for supposed editorial violations. Along with other vocal government critics, he has since established the monitoring committee, as well as his own research institute.

Goenawan added that the political conflict and riots have adversely affected the world's perception of Indonesia's political system.

"Our image abroad is getting worse," he said.

However, Goenawan said he was resigned to the fact that his plea has fallen on deaf ears. "In the end, it will be quite easy for the government to proceed with the election and that's the way I see it happening," he said.

Speaking at the same seminar, human rights activist Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara said that the past general elections were good in the sense that they had large turn-outs.

However, he said, general elections have not proceeded as a means to empower the people or to meet their political rights. "The general elections have become a mere ritual, as shown by the fact that it's called a pesta demokrasi (fiesta of democracy)."

There will be no democratic progress unless the principles of honesty and fairness are applied in the election process, he said. (15/mds)