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.