Clearing the campaign trail

Clearing the campaign trail

The presidential elections that are to kick off today with a
month-long campaign period is an important milestone in
Indonesia's history. After almost 59 years of independence, it is
only now that the nation seems to have amassed enough insight and
courage to try and correct the shortcomings of the old electoral
system, which it had followed since the first elections in 1955,
by holding a direct presidential election.

Under the old system proscribed by the 1945 Constitution, the
people had no choice but to leave it to the political parties
they had voted for in the general elections to select members to
the House of Representatives, or DPR. Once every five years,
these legislators, together with regional lawmakers and a number
of appointed assemblymen, would meet as the People's Consultative
Assembly, or MPR, the main duties of which consisted of drawing
up the so-called guidelines of state policy and electing the
president and vice president.

Obviously, under such a system the people were poorly
represented, since political parties have not enjoyed the
reputation of putting the nation's interests first and their own
second since the pre-independence era of the 1930s.

Since the 1998 reform movement, transforming the legislature
to better serve the people's interests has therefore been a key
priority on the reformists' agenda. Amendments to the
Constitution were made, resulting in the adoption of a direct
electoral system, among other things.

Despite the many public complaints of abuse and mismanagement
by both the executive and legislative branches of government --
not to mention the judiciary -- the process of democratization
seems to be moving ahead, even if at a snail's pace. The hope, of
course, is that the direct presidential election on July 5 will
help not only to accelerate democratic and administrative reform,
but will also infuse the nation with a renewed sense of optimism
regarding its future.

For the immediate present, however, the foremost concern seems
to be to ensure that the month-long campaigns and the July
election itself proceed in peace and order, if not in a spirit of
cordiality. Toward this end, a number of measures have been taken
and arrangements made to make sure that calm prevails.

Over the weekend, the five candidate pairs pledged to give no
cause for violence during the campaign by playing fair,
refraining from "black campaigning" or mud-slinging. Three of the
five also agreed to resolve all or any disputes among them by
referring the matter to the Constitutional Court. The candidates
also signed on Saturday a document at KPU headquarters in Central
Jakarta as proof of their commitment to fair play. Such a noble
intent is vital, as the presidential election deserves to be
lauded, even though how things will turn out at the grassroots
level remains to be seen.

The General Elections Committee (KPU) has therefore gone a
step further by organizing a parade of camaraderie for the
public's benefit, in which all candidates are to participate.

This joint motorcade of candidates is slated to start this
morning from Medan Merdeka Square, Central Jakarta, and proceed
to the Semanggi cloverleaf near Senayan. From that point, the
cars are to disperse to take each pair of hopefuls to their
respective campaign venues.

Amid these shows of congeniality, however, the question that
lingers on everybody's lips is: How great is the actual
possibility of violence during the campaigns?

This possibility, of course, cannot be ruled out in toto, and
several friendly countries have already issued travel warnings to
their citizens, advising them to avoid traveling or staying in
Indonesia during the election, unless absolutely necessary.

The people, it seems, appear to be taking things more in
stead. After all, those familiar with this country's customs know
that direct elections are nothing new to Indonesia, where
villagers have chosen their village heads by democratic means for
generations.

Of course, modern-day politics may have affected Indonesians
enough over the years to alter their traditional peaceful
behavior. Nevertheless, if the orderly, nonviolent general
elections in April are anything to go by, it may be realistic to
hope that nothing wrong will happen this time, either.