'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)