Election image needs improving: Rudini
Election image needs improving: Rudini
JAKARTA (JP): A truly fair and honest general election next
year will help dispel the growing popular perception that the
event is a mere formality to justify the inveterate rule of the
status quo, former home minister Rudini said yesterday.
"Given the many deficiencies and weaknesses listed by various
members of the public, including political parties, many are of
the opinion that past elections have not been fully effective in
constructing a democratic political order," the retired Army
general said.
Speaking at a seminar at the Center for Strategic and
International Studies, Rudini said that while the legal
mechanisms concerning elections were quite sufficient, their
implementation still left much to be desired.
"The government must be able to dispel the image that the
electoral process is just a way of fulfilling constitutional
formalities," he remarked.
Discontent at the electoral process has manifested itself in
the formation of various independent election monitoring
committees, which the government has brushed off as being
superfluous.
Rudini said that certain "suspicious" practices of past
elections have motivated increasing demands for a better
election.
"Why have these demands recently gotten stronger? For no other
reason than because of the people's belief that there is
something wrong in the field," he charged.
He pointed to the alliance of the civil servant corps with the
ruling Golkar faction as one factor which diminishes trust and
creates wariness.
Noting that many other organizations have blatantly instructed
members to support a particular political party, Rudini said this
practice is a clear neglect of a general election's hallowed
principles. "With such an instruction the principles of the
voter's free choice and secrecy evaporate," he said.
In his presentation, political scientist J. Soedjati
Djiwandono slammed the so-called "special screening" ahead of the
election, saying that the practice is filtering out potentially
critical legislators.
The screening is conducted by the military on every candidate
for the House of Representatives and the regional legislative
councils. It is intended to weed out those with possible past
communist links.
Soedjati maintained that the screening had effectively blunted
the House of Representatives and made legislators devoid of all
political independence.
Juwono Sudarsono, deputy governor of the National Resilience
Institute, while acknowledging the necessity of the screening,
said that it should not be conducted too often.
The government should not be overly harsh in punishing someone
whose relative or forefather is a suspected communist, he said.
One should not be blamed for caring for a relative who is
reputedly a communist supporter, Juwono remarked.
Separately, Armed Forces Chief for Sociopolitical Affairs Lt.
Gen. Syarwan Hamid asserted that all prospective legislators for
next year's general elections should be examined.
"The special screening is mainly meant to filter candidates so
that only loyal and devoted legislators are elected," Syarwan
told reporters after attending the opening ceremony of a seminar,
held at the armed forcers headquarters yesterday.
"We do not want people to elect candidates whose mind and
principles are against the state ideology Pancasila," he added.
The three political groups contesting the elections are
expected to submit their completed lists of candidates for the
House by Sept. 16. The screening process will be held from Sept.
17 to Oct. 31. (imn/mds)