'Direct debate in runoff would enlightens voters'

'Direct debate in runoff would enlightens voters'

M. Taufiqurrahman and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The absence of a direct debate between presidential candidates in
the runoff election will deprive the electorate of a valuable
mechanism through which they can determine the better candidate
for the country's top job, an analyst has said.

Mass communications expert Efendy Ghazali from the University
Indonesia said on Tuesday that a direct debate between
presidential candidates constituted a form of political education
and was believed to be able to affect voter preference with
regard to the candidates.

"Experience from developed countries tells us that a
presidential debate like that could increase the knowledge of
over 30 percent of voters on candidates. It is such a shame that
we won't have such a debate. This is a major setback, as we had
one before in the first round of the election," he told The
Jakarta Post.

He said that a debate would enable voters to assess which
candidate could deliver more focused policies to deal with the
country's problems.

Efendy said that although the debate would initially influence
middle-class voters, he believed that, over time, less-educated
sectors of the electorate would appreciate the benefit of having
a debate face-off.

"We must realize that democracy is a long and tortuous path
and maturity in democracy will only be achieved after a long
period: A presidential debate would be a good start," he said.

He said the Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi camp should
not be hesitant to appear in the debate, as its presence alone
could attract support from the electorate.

"Megawati's willingness to appear in the first presidential
debate substantially improved her stature. Megawati would gain
more benefit if she agreed to participate in the debate in the
election runoff," he said.

The Megawati-Hasyim camp balked at the idea of a debate,
arguing that the ticket was only playing by the rules that had
been established by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

The KPU has stated that in the three-day campaign for the
runoff, no debates will be held between the Megawati-Hasyim and
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Jusuf Kalla camps.

Contacted separately, the Megawati-Hasyim camp defended its
decision to eschew the debate, saying that it would neither
benefit nor educate the electorate.

Mega Center spokeswoman Irma Hutabarat said that the country
was in need of a leader of quality, not one who had a knack for
debating.

"There is no benefit from that kind of debate; based on
previous experience it will simply mislead people as they will
vote on the basis of a candidate's appearance, not on their
quality," Irma told the Post.

She said the Megawati-Hasyim team might reconsider its
decision not to take part in the debate if it were set up
differently, with a series of forums for the candidates to
address one issue at a time.

"We cannot just copy the format that we have seen used in the
United States, as that would not be compatible with the political
maturity of our voters," she said.

An analyst from Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicated, Soekardi Rinakit,
shared Irma's view, saying that a debate would be of little use
in influencing voters.

"Voters will have made up their minds long before election
day," he told the Post.