'District' poll system more suitable for RI: Experts
'District' poll system more suitable for RI: Experts
SEMARANG (JP): Political observers are speaking in favor of change in the electoral system, from the current proportional representation to the district system, because the latter is more likely to produce "people-oriented" legislators.
Ali Mufiz and Kahar Badjuri, both lecturers at the Diponegoro University here, agreed that the district, or first-past-the- post, system was "quite ideal" to be implemented in Indonesia.
"With the district system, voters have the opportunity to really know the figures who would represent them in legislative councils," Ali said. In addition, "the elected legislators would also have stronger (emotional) ties with their constituents".
"Such people-oriented legislators would perform relatively better than ones produced by the existing system," said Ali.
Ali said that the district system creates greater accountability for the elected legislators. "If one fails to fight for the political aspirations of one's constituents, then one cannot expect to be re-elected in the next term," Ali said.
While praising the advantages of the district system, Kahar Badjuri said he did not believe the country was yet ready to adopt it. "There's not enough time to implement it for the 1997 general election," he said. Besides, "replacing the current system would call for a fundamental reform of the election laws.'
The two observers were responding to reports that the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) has just submitted to Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono the results of its study on the electoral system which was commissioned by President Soeharto last year.
Ali and Kahar expressed agreement that all of the three political contestants -- Golkar, the United Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party -- would have to work hard in order to be able to cope, should the election system be changed.
"If the district system is implemented, say in the 2002 general election, then it is possible that only charismatic figures will be elected," Ali said. "The more obscure individuals, even if they work hard, may not be noticed."
Mochtar Pabottingi, a political scientist who led the LIPI study, said last year that ideal democracy can be achieved here only when the people themselves elect candidates to the House of Representatives, rather than having them appointed through a proportional system.
He also said that the district system, in which voters directly nominate candidates, is most appropriate for Indonesia because of the geographic spread of voters.
The Army has also undertaken a similar study and its provisional result, announced in June, determined that there was no need for Indonesia to move away from the proportional representative electoral system.
Under the current system, voters elect one of three political parties. The 400 seats in the House are then distributed among the three parties according to their shares of the votes. The parties then appoint their representatives.
Officials in Golkar, which has won all of the five general elections held under President Soeharto, have said that the district system would make Golkar's majority almost absolute because they would win almost all, if not every, district.
The opinions on the electoral system are far from uniform. There are prominent academics, such as Miriam Budiardjo, Bintan Saragih and Iwan Sujatmiko, who believed that the proportional representation system is still the most appropriate one for Indonesia. (swe)