Cetro fights for direct presidential elections

JAKARTA (JP): A coalition of 12 organizations campaigning for a direct presidential election system in 2004 is taking its battle to the corridors of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) which convenes its Annual Session this week.

The coalition grouped under the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) has set up an office at the business center of Hotel Mulia, where many of the 700 MPR members are staying for their 12-day annual session.

Cetro coordinator Smita Notosusanto admits that the coalition faces an uphill struggle, with most MPR factions either rejecting the proposed direct presidential election system, or accepting a combination that essentially still gives the MPR the right to screen or elect the president.

As of Friday, Cetro only has the support of the National Awakening Party (PKB), a minority faction in the Assembly.

There are signs that other small factions, including the Muslim-oriented United Development Party (PPP), will hop on the coalition's bandwagon.

Cetro has dismissed PDI Perjuangan from its campaign, describing the MPR's largest faction as being "very hostile" to the cause.

The campaign will instead target MPR members from Golkar, the second largest faction, which has sufficient numbers to bolster the chances of success if the matter is put to a vote.

"We will use guerrilla warfare tactics," Smita said.

The coalition will deploy activists from the member organizations to approach MPR members during the gathering.

One of these groups is the Movement for the Empowerment of Women's Voices (GPSP), consisting mostly of women.

"They are my secret weapons," Smita said.

Smita believes that there is still a fair chance that the MPR might opt for a direct presidential election system.

Besides receiving and debating President Abdurrahman Wahid's progress report for his first 10 months in office, the MPR will also endorse a second series of constitutional amendments and a host of new MPR decrees.

The MPR working committee has endorsed a set of proposals to amend the 1945 Constitution. A major sticking point will be the electoral procedure for the president and vice president in 2004.

The current indirect election system allows political parties to form coalitions which could defeat even the largest political party in the Assembly.

President Abdurrahman won the election in October although his PKB faction only came fourth in the general election in June. PDI Perjuangan, which came first in the election, had to settle for the vice presidency.

Megawati's defeat, despite winning the general election four months earlier, has spawned a debate to review the system, with a direct presidential election seen as an alternative.

The indirect system is only workable under a parliamentary system and not a presidential system, Smita said.

Most presidential governments in the world use the direct election system and Indonesia is one of only six countries which uses the indirect system. The other five -- Botswana, Libya, Iraq, Eritrea and South Africa -- could hardly be considered a model for a democratic system, she said.

Smita did not include the United States, which elects its president through an electoral college, in the list.

Under the indirect system, the executive branch of government can be held hostage by the legislative branch, she said, noting that this was one of the problems confronting Abdurrahman and one which has undermined the strength of his government.

The MPR working committee has received four different proposals with regard to the presidential election mechanism:

* A pure direct election system (proposed by PKB).

* Maintaining the existing system (supported by the Indonesian Military (TNI) faction).

* A combination of the two, with candidates screened by MPR prior to the election (proposed by the Reform faction).

* A combination of the two, with candidates elected directly by the people but having to pass MPR screening afterwards (proposed by PDI Perjuangan).

Cetro insists on eliminating any MPR role in the election to eliminate "money politics" and "horse trading" practices.

The coalition began its campaign in February by House members to find allies for its cause.

In May, it launched a nationwide media blitz, calling on the public to write to the Assembly or their political parties expressing support for a direct presidential election system.

The campaign irked the Assembly and factions in the MPR because their fax machines were immediately swamped by messages from the public responding to Cetro's appeal.

When they turned the machines off, Cetro responded by urging them to keep the fax machines open and listen to the aspirations of the people. "We even supplied them with facsimile paper," Smita recalled.

"By last week, we had collected more than 10,000 responses through faxes, e-mails, and letters," she said.

Cetro has also conducted a nationwide polling to determine the extent of its support, and found that 75 percent of the people in the country support direct presidential elections.

"The people are ready for it. I can't say the same about the political elite though," she said.

The proposal for a direct presidential election system comes in a package of reforms to ensure that the elected president could not abuse the legitimacy given directly by the people.

The package includes the establishment of a bicameral parliament consisting of lower and upper houses -- whose members are all elected by the people -- and a restructuring of the parliament, including granting it the power to impeach the president.

Smita said Indonesia would do well in following the Nigerian electoral system which uses the proportional principle. In Nigeria, candidates must win more than 50 percent of the votes and at least 25 percent of the votes in two-thirds of the states.

This system would force the candidates to look for support from as many regions as possible.

The simple majority system, used in the Philippines, would be dangerous for Indonesia because of the strong anti-Javanese sentiments found on other islands.

Smita admitted that this system, if it had been used last October, could have given victory to Golkar's candidate, the incumbent president B.J. Habibie, because the party, which ruled for 32 years, still had the largest network in the regions.

She pointed out that in many former communist countries in Eastern Europe, communist parties have been returned to power through democratic elections.

She dismissed those who fear a Golkar comeback as "having limited vision".

"We have to believe in the system ... that it would create a good system and hopefully a good result," she said.

She pointed out that Golkar's chances of winning the 2004 election was small, and that the party was currently racked by internal power struggles between the so-called Black Golkar and White Golkar.

Golkar also has no presidential candidate since its chairman Akbar Tandjung ruled himself out of the race, leaving the field for the 2004 election, at least at this stage, between PDI Perjuangan's Megawati and the Reform faction's Amien Rais.

Asked about the coalition's plan if the MPR fails to endorse the direct election system, Smita said the campaign would continue, targeting the 2001 meeting of the MPR, or the subsequent year if it failed again..

"There is still time before the 2004 election," she said.

"It would be even better for our campaign if there is an Extraordinary Session of the MPR before next year. We will submit our proposal quickly," she said. (emb)