Final list of candidates can trigger conflicts

Philips J Vermonte, Researcher, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta

Next week, the nation will enter another, potentially explosive, phase in the preparations for the 2004 election. On Jan. 27, the General Election Commission (KPU) will make public the final list of eligible legislative candidates. As there is the potential for violence during this phase, all concerned parties need to be cautious to ensure it passes safely.

In fact, violent incidents have already taken place in several places across the country since the tentative lists of candidates were made public earlier this month.

The violence was first and foremost caused by the blatant fact that political parties, especially the parties that have existed since the New Order period, failed to prove to their grassroots members that they had adopted a more democratic way of accommodating local aspirations in the preparation of their respective lists.

Many party leaders as well as party members at the local level were frustrated to find out that their favorite local politicians did not appear on the temporary list of candidates submitted by the central board of the parties to the KPU last month. Feeling betrayed by the party leadership at the higher level, the frustrated local members protested, which in many cases led to outbreaks of violence.

Angry party members in Medan (North Sumatra), Kuningan (West Java), Banyuwangi, Situbondo, Surabaya (East Java) and several other places expressed their anger in many ways, including the burning of party posters and even attacking their own party offices (The Jakarta Post, Jan.6, 2004).

The incidents have shown us a simple fact that our political parties have failed to understand the fundamental logic behind a direct election, which is to accommodate the aspirations of people at the local level. When the party leaders ignore the logic, they can expect more anger from their own members at the local level.

Another source of frustration on the part of party activists is that many party leaders are still engaged in nepotism, with many family members showing up on lists, often at the expense of far more qualified local candidates. Also, there have been cases where party leaders nominated candidates who are completely unknown to the local people they potentially are going to represent.

It is quite disappointing to see that current party leaders underestimate the intellectual capacity and commitment of today's voters in general, and of course their own party members in particular, to understand and react to such foolish acts of nepotism.

Next week's announcement by the KPU may also be followed by clashes and protests for another reason. Violent incidents are likely to occur if the lists of the legislative candidates submitted by the political parties does not meet the high expectations of the nation, who now strongly desire competent candidates with clean and reliable track records.

Particularly, candidates with no record of corruption or human rights abuses. Nepotism might sideline otherwise far more competent candidates from the list, only to be replaced by incompetent persons with negative track records.

If competent people are not even nominated, resentment, not only among party activists, but also among all the undecided voters at various levels, will certainly grow. One instance of such a strong reaction resulting from such resentment took place last week in Central Kalimantan. In Palangkaraya, the capital city of the province, several local civil society organizations, which were declaring the Movement against Decadent Politicians, clashed with local police.

Other reason why we have to be very cautious about the final list of legislative candidates is the issue of representation. Ideally, direct elections should create more opportunities for local politicians to compete in the election. Their main source of support would understandably come from the people who know them best -- those who share a similar background, be it religious or ethnic.

We know that this country is extremely diverse in terms of religion and ethnicity, even within some provinces and regencies. If the final list of legislative candidates overlooks the issue of religious and socio-cultural representation, local activists may react very strongly.

In this case, nepotism by national party leaders can once again be pointed out as a source of the problem since it can ruin the process of finding a delicate balance of representation carried out by local or regional party leaders.

Therefore, to prevent violence, the following things are imperative: First, political party leaders must see it as good news and must understand that their grassroots members, and equally important our civil society today, now have a greatly increased political awareness.

Moreover, the rank-and-file voters possess a stronger commitment to have a more democratic party system. Nepotism and any undemocratic internal decisions made by political party central boards from now on must be treated as obsolete and unpopular ways of doing business.

Second, the KPU and the Election Monitoring Committee (Panwaslu) need to be bold enough to exercise the new authority they possess to impose necessary measures in order to prevent any violent conflicts from occurring during the election, including the phase following the announcement of the final list of legislative candidates next week.

Third, political parties, including the leaders and grassroots members, must respect the rule of law and make every effort to find a more peaceful way to resolve internal conflicts. Mobilizing mobs to win an internal battle for power within their party will almost certainly lead to a violent conflict.

Such mob mobilization also poses the dangerous threat of escalation and retaliation to a more serious conflict encompassing a wider swath of society. And finally, security personnel, in this case the police, have a crucial role in dealing with the conflicts when they occur, and they must understand that firmness and neutrality are the key words.

The writer is also active in People's Coalition for Peaceful Election.