Experts doubt PPP bill will get anywhere
Experts doubt PPP bill will get anywhere
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party's (PPP) initiative to have the electoral law reformed, while laudable, is doomed to fail because it faces mighty hurdles the minority party cannot overcome, two political observers concluded.
For one, the party will unlikely get the necessary support to have the "bill on initiative", the instrument which the PPP hopes will lead to electoral reform being included in the House's agenda, the observers said.
Political analysts Saefuddin and Soehardjo in a seminar on political reflection held here on Sunday said they doubt the PPP will be able to overcome the various hurdles in time for the 1997 general election.
The regulations stipulate that a party needs to secure the support of at least 20 legislators from two factions to have a bill debated in the House of Representatives.
Even if the PPP manages to obtain the minimum support required, the bill will unlikely get the support of the House, which is dominated by Golkar and the Armed Forces. The government would not likely endorse the bill, they said.
All legislation enacted by the House of Representatives since 1965 has been initiated by the government, lending credence to accusations that the House is merely a rubber stamp for the government. An earlier attempt by the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), another minority faction in the House, to propose an anti- monopoly bill, was killed when none of the other three factions was willing to second it.
Saefuddin, a law expert from the Indonesian Islamic University in Yogyakarta, said the government and its political grouping, Golkar, have repeatedly objected to the electoral reform bill which was submitted to the House in January.
"It's true that the PPP has followed the right procedures, but to amend the (electoral) law won't be easy because it would put the government's political interests at stake," Saefuddin said.
Unhappy with the current electoral law, the PPP is calling for a revision of the law to guarantee a fairer election in 1997. The proposal includes allowing all contesting parties equal involvement in the electoral process.
Many political observers said that PPP's move was more of an election ploy to win sympathy and support, knowing that there was no way the party could obtain even the minimum support required to have the bill debated in the House.
PPP leaders have said they were counting on the support of the PDI faction in the house to second the bill.
PDI legislators have not rejected the call to join forces but some doubt the PPP's sincerity in seeking reforms.
Soehardjo, a constitutional law expert from Semarang's Diponegoro University, said time was running against the PPP and its bill.
Between now and the election in the middle of 1997, all the parties will be preoccupied with their preparations, he said. "Besides, the PPP has not been lobbying the two dominant factions, Golkar and the Armed Forces, for support."
The PPP has not defined the specific aspects of the electoral law it wants changed, he said, adding that "the substance should be clearly defined and will take years."
Soehardjo nevertheless praised the PPP's initiative as a good move to attract more voters in the 1997 election.
The bill also underlines the wish in some sections of society for a change in the electoral law which they consider undemocratic, he added. (har/pan)