Elections still a mystery

Elections still a mystery

When the government and the House of Representatives reached
an agreement on May 29, 1998 to hold a general election the
following year, many people saw it as a necessary move, because
the country was badly in need of a stable and democratically
elected government to put an end to the chaotic situation left in
the wake of the resignation of former president Soeharto.

The question remained as to what kind of elections we would
have and who would organize them. To answer these questions, the
House of Representatives is now deliberating political bills
which deal with political parties, general elections and the
status of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the House
of Representatives.

The deliberations are scheduled to be completed at the end of
January, leaving would-be political parties an insufficient
amount of time to prepare themselves to contest the elections.
According to the government, there are presently less than 10 new
political parties out of a reported 100 which have been formed
over the last five months who are ready to contest the elections.

Meanwhile, Habibie's government is making preparations for the
polls. Together with the House of Representatives, it announced
yesterday that election day will fall on June 7, and the new MPR,
the country's highest constitutional body, will convene for the
first time on Aug. 29.

However, Habibie's government has still not made it clear
whether, as in the past, it will be the MPR who elects a new
president, or if there will be a direct presidential election, as
many people have urged. Those who advocate the idea of a direct
presidential election say that such a system -- which would be a
first for Indonesia -- would be more democratic and easier to
protect from the influence of money politics.

Putting these questions aside, many people still doubt whether
the June polls will really take place because of the many
unanswered questions surrounding the elections. The present
government still has a credibility problem. It is a fact that our
society is still clouded with uncertainty because Habibie's
administration has not responded to the aspirations of the people
nor conducted a total reform of the political system. To even
force Habibie's administration to begin a probe of former
president Soeharto's alleged wealth, as ordered by the MPR, has
needed the impetus of massive student protests.

Habibie has also damaged his credibility by refusing to take
action against those responsible for the recent fatal shootings
of student protesters, or to thoroughly investigate the tragedy
which took place at Trisakti University in May. These failures
have served to worsen the conflicts in Indonesian society.

Another question which must be addressed before election day
is who will run the polls? It seems that the government believes
that it is capable of running the polls itself, although it must
understand and expect that it will be impossible to gain the
trust of the population if it undertakes this endeavor.

Indonesia last held a democratic poll 53 years ago and most
members of the present ruling elite are in the dark as to how
such an event should work. All they know are the six dirty
elections held under the Soeharto regime, in which they played
their parts.

The public surely has the right to suspect that in order to
preserve the status quo we will see a repeat of the same dirty
practices in next year's elections. And Habibie's recent
statement comparing the Indonesian elections to those in the
United States does not help raise the credibility of his
administration, because it shows that he still has to learn what
democracy truly means. Unless, of course, he meant his statement
as a cruel joke.

When Habibie became president, no thinking person expected
everything would go flawlessly with the shadow of Soeharto still
looming over the government. But the public does have the right
to expect honest and fair elections, without manipulation by the
present ruling elite, because without a fair poll Indonesia will
plunge into chaos.