Fair elections

Reports in The Jakarta Post from Nov. 11 to Nov. 15 hinted that Indonesia's upcoming elections will not be free and fair, and will not allow all Indonesians to express their political aspirations peacefully at the ballot box.

A truly democratic system is very simple. It allows anyone to run for office; all representatives serve the same number of constituents, and votes are counted accurately. If Indonesia adopted these simple rules, it could be a model for the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, the leaders of Indonesia's current one-party government appear to be designing an electoral system that will reduce competition, and keep themselves in power.

According to the Nov. 11 Post, potential candidate will need to gather 300,000 signatures before they can run for office. If Indonesia has 200 million people, and 400 districts, and half the people are too young to vote, a winning candidate would need only 125,001 votes, in a two-candidate race, to be elected.

If May 1999 has elections that are widely seen as unfair, the public reaction could be stronger than in May 1998.

For peace, safety and confidence in the economy, Indonesia desperately needs to have fair elections.

CHRISTY LANZL

Jakarta