Deciding by ballot

Deciding by ballot

The recent decision taken by a vote in the House of
Representatives was a new and refreshing development. The House
plenary session failed to reach a unanimous decision because the
United Development Party (PPP) faction insisted on proposing
former finance minister Mar'ie Muhammad as a candidate for the
position of chairman of the State Audit Board. The decision,
taken by ballot, was valid and must thus be accepted by the
United Development Party faction, which must learn to be a good
loser. Taking decisions by a vote can be expected to occur again
in the future.

Voting is a normal and acceptable way of taking a decision,
although under the New Order regime it was avoided and even
regarded as taboo. Political leaders, especially those in the
Soeharto government, preferred to hold intensive deliberations in
order to arrive at a unanimous, or almost unanimous, decision.

This rejection of the voting process was apparently designed
to avoid contests between factions when important decisions that
would affect the whole nation were being taken. Critics, however,
have pointed out that this often resulted in artificial consent.
Those who held different views, or those who opposed the majority
view, had to accept the "accord" and thereby give up their
control over policy matters. This model of decision making also
reflected the fear of those in power that some of their own
legislators might desert them by voting independently.

Nevertheless, we should think carefully before we decide to
discard the principle of "deliberation toward consensus" in favor
of voting. Indeed, we should put the principle of deliberation
first so that a thorough comprehension of the debated issue is
obtained by all concerned parties. In any country, voting is the
choice of last resort after intensive lobbying fails to bring all
the prevailing views together.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta