City Council's position hindered by 1974 law
JAKARTA (JP): When 5.7 million Jakartans go to the polls today they may hardly have a clue who will represent them on the City Council. A proportional election system in which people vote for a party instead of certain people renders councilors rather unpopular.
Analysts say a main obstacle of the council achieving a stronger position in the municipality is a clause in a 1974 law on regional administration, that the council is a "partner" with the governor.
A three-time councilor, Mansyur Ahmad of the ruling Golkar faction, summed up the tricky consequence of being a partner: "It is key for a councilor to understand his position -- that he bridges people with the municipality."
A council member, said Mansyur, who headed Commission D in charge of development affairs for seven years, must strive to ensure that people's interests are not harmed "while city development programs are not held back either".
The inevitable compromise might be one reason why people flock to the National Commission for Human Rights instead.
Nevertheless, in a recent meeting between chairmen from city chapters of Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) with Governor Surjadi Soedirdja, party leaders requested that in light of increasingly complex issues of the growing megalopolis, the current 75 members should be increased to 100.
The leaders also said that because the capital did not have a township council representing people at a lower level, Jakarta should have more councilors.
Also, political groups would have more potential cadres to groom if more councilors were added.
Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. is expected to issue a decision on the matter before July, when the new council is sworn in.
The composition of the outgoing City Council with its 75 members is as follows: 32 members are from Golkar, 15 from the United Development Party (PPP), 13 from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and 15 ABRI members, including former city police chief Maj. Gen. M.H. Ritonga.
This was a result from the 1992 election in Jakarta where Golkar won 2.6 million votes, PPP 1.1 million votes, and PDI 1.03 million votes.
The allotted number of seats refers to a 1985 law on the membership of the House of Representatives and councils.
It specifically states that Jakarta should have at least 60 councilors.
The minimum number was raised to 75 when political leaders asked the then minister of home affairs Rudini to increase the number.
The 1985 law states that the size of the council must reflect the support of the national electorate for respective contestants.
After the votes are counted, the number of seats allotted to a contestant will be first determined by the bilangan pembagi pemilihan (a figure obtained from dividing the number of votes by the available seats).
A confident Golkar official said it was aiming for at least 60 percent of Jakarta's votes today; and PPP's expectations ranged from at least the same as 1992 to even higher than Golkar's. PDI seemed too divided for an estimate.
"We could reap the same results as we did in 1987," said an assured PPP executive, referring to when PPP won in Jakarta. "People are getting tired of informal local leaders saying they have to vote for Golkar."
While the Golkar source said, "PPP doesn't realize that the huge number of youth it claims as supporters, are dropouts and unemployed with nothing else better to do than join rallies." (anr)