A brief respite

We can all breathe a sigh of relief that the official election campaign has finally come to an end. Relief not only because the past 17 days have been relatively free from the widespread violence, but also because we can all get back to our normal routines. The campaign period may have brought a festive mood for some, but to most people it was very disruptive.

The campaign period has had its share of casualties too. Early this week, police said it recorded 174 campaign-related deaths. Most died in traffic accidents, which is not surprising given that traffic laws were violated by party campaigners. Some were killed in clashes between supporters of different parties. But these clashes were sporadic and not as widespread as many of us had dreaded.

The casualty figure is low by Indonesian standards, particularly considering incidents of violent unrest in several parts of the country in the months preceding the official campaign period. Sectarian conflicts in Ambon (Maluku) and Sambas (West Kalimantan), precampaign clashes between supporters of different political parties in Jepara and Pekalongan (Central Java) and in Buleleng (Bali), plus the turbulent campaign in the last election in 1997 raised the specter of a violent period when the official campaign period began on May 19. It was frightening enough for the government to move summer school holidays forward by one month, for the military and police to deploy their forces in full, and for many wealthy Indonesians to seek temporary safe haven abroad.

While we may take pride in having disproved our own fears, we can hardly be proud about the quality or substance of the election campaign in promoting political communication between politicians and the masses. Our politicians may have succeeded in creating a carnival mood, but they failed to reach out to the masses, particularly in conveying their vision and message. The only real message to have come out of the campaign monologues and dialogs broadcast by all TV stations every day was that Indonesia has few politicians with the vision and communication skills necessary to lead the country. But at least we know the challenges facing us, and this is something to consider in future elections.

Given the irrelevance of the campaign in terms of promoting political communication, one wonders whether it was really necessary to have a campaign period, with all the security risks it entailed. Campaigning however, is an inseparable part of the electoral process, a process we have to go through every time we conduct a general election. Since we all agree that a democratic general election is important in establishing a legitimate and credible government, we have no choice but to follow the entire process. What we have to do is eliminate, or at least minimize, the likelihood of violence.

While the campaign stage passed in relative peace and calm, there are still several other phases to go through. Each of these will be equally prone to violence, if not more, especially as the election process builds to a climax with the presidential election in November.

There is still the question of whether the elections will be free and fair. Violations of rules by just about every major party during the campaign period, allegations of money politics, and the inability of the General Elections Commission to stop the violations, let alone punish the errant parties, have raised serious doubts that the elections will be free and fair, even with the strong presence of foreign observers.

There is the question of whether the election results, once announced, will be accepted by the public, particularly by the losing parties, irrespective of whether the elections were free and fair. There is the question of the kind of coalition forces that will emerge in the House of Representatives, and whether they will be acceptable to the public, and more importantly, whether the coalition will be workable and sustainable. Finally, there is the November General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly to elect a president, and the question of whether that process will be fair and whether the elected president will have the public's support.

The road to democracy is long and perilous. But it is the only road leading to the establishment of a legitimate and credible government, which this country so desperately needs if it ever wants to get out of the crisis. We have to take that road no matter what, and deal with risks as they happen.