Elections in Indonesia

Elections in Indonesia

With the final round of the presidential election around the
corner, it is perhaps the right time to compare the pros and cons
of two methods employed in electing the CEO of a country: A
"direct" election -- as is practiced in the U.S. and France and
some other countries -- and the indirect method -- as practiced
by Great Britain and India -- wherein the members of parliament
choose the CEO. It is really admirable that Indonesia has chosen
the very good method of direct election with the motto, Presiden
pilihan rakyat (a president of the people's choice).

In the first round, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Megawati
Soekarnoputri and Wiranto were in a tight race and many predicted
a direct confrontation between the two ex-generals (Susilo and
Wiranto) in the runoff. But Megawati came in second, and the
results of the final round between Susilo and Megawati are still
wide open, as per the political pundits.

One thing surprises me: Unlike in the U.S., where the vice
presidential and presidential candidates of both the Democratic
and Republican party are from the same party, the picture here is
totally different. In the U.S., the vice presidential candidate
is chosen more on regional considerations. They are generally
from an area where the presidential candidate may lack support.

But in Indonesia, there is total porosity across the party
lines. I am honestly wondering what the losing "running mate"
will do later. Will they return to their old party meekly? Will
their old party accept them back, or call them a traitor? Or will
they launch a new party, as Indian politicians often do? I feel
that if Susilo and Megawati had selected their running mates on
regional considerations rather than party ones, it would have
been more logical.

One thing is very clear. The new president will enjoy the
confidence of the people and will not be subjected to any horse
trading that goes on, for example, in India where the factions of
the coalition government jockey for prime slots in the cabinet.
Or, what happened when then president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid
was removed from office and Megawati was elected.

To that extent, I admire the people/politicians of Indonesia
who were behind the decision to hold two-tier direct elections.
Whoever wins on Sept. 20 will rule the country with confidence
and with the full authority to do what he or she thinks is good
for the country.

K.B. KALE, Jakarta