Electing our local leaders

In just over a month, Indonesians will begin witnessing and participating in a series of elections for local chief executives. This will mark the beginning of an almost perpetual cycle of elections in this country to elect governors, mayors and regents.

The advent of local elections is a giant step forwards on the long road toward a truly democratic society. If local autonomy -- introduced in 2001 -- provided the starting point and runup to this endeavor, the elections will determine how far the nation has come along the path to achieving this laudable goal.

Hence the upcoming local elections should be viewed as part of the nation's continuing effort to return sovereignty to the people.

By itself, regional autonomy does little for the people. It merely transfers raw power from the hands of unscrupulous politicians in Jakarta to even more unscrupulous opportunists at the local level. However, what local elections will do is to provide some measure of safeguard as regards the management of that power.

Furthermore, local elections provide the most transparent medium for gauging the wants and wishes of the public.

For too long, citizens far removed from Jakarta's corridors of power have been treated with condescension. Like unwanted orphans who need to be told what is best for them.

Regional autonomy and direct local elections should put an end to this unbalanced relationship. They represent a significant and complicated change for those used to absolute power at the center, but it is a change that needs to take place.

With just weeks remaining before the elections begin, the prophets of doom are busy pointing to every single deficiency in the poll preparations and infrastructure.

There are certainly a multitude of failings that should have been dealt with by now. Even before the process had begun, we already knew that the system that had been put in place left a lot to be desired.

For example, it is doubtful that the voters will be able to truly gauge the quality and promises of the candidates given the limited time set aside for campaigning, and the lack of media available for disseminating substantive campaign issues -- other than facile posters and flags.

The Jakarta-based political parties also continue to enjoy a monopoly, with no recourse available to independent candidates.

Lack of control over abuses and the prevalence of money politics are other latent dangers.

All these give rise to worries, and must be addressed and corrected. Vigilance must be maintained so that the effort is not ruined by an unscrupulous few.

But we should also be wise enough to understand that there is no such thing as a perfect system. Shortcomings will occur, whether by accident or design, even in an ideal system.

The fact that the staging of local elections is a completely new undertaking here suggests that there will, indeed, be deficiencies.

Rather than complaining, however, we believe that the challenges before us should be met with vigor, foresight and a positive spirit. It is a benevolent undertaking, the benefits of which will be plentiful, albeit late in coming.

We should embrace the coming local leadership elections in the way that one would embark on a new career or a marriage -- pitfalls lie in wait, yet the end result should be worth the effort.

Adjustments should be made along the way -- fine tuning carried out based on the lessons learned over time.

The most vulnerable element as we set out on this initial stage of our democratic history at the local level concerns the degree of accuracy and accountability displayed by local election commissions (KPUD). Even with shortcomings, if confidence in the electoral process and its overseers is maintained, voters will likely respect and accept the results of the polls.

But once distrust as regards the work of the KPUDs emerges, confidence in the polls will evaporate, and doubt will reign over their results. In such circumstances, whosoever is elected will be dogged by questions of political legitimacy.

This in turn will only lead to an erosion in our trust in democracy.