General election features in the country's postage stamps

JAKARTA (JP): There is no denying that a country's postage stamps often reflect something of the country itself. They usually feature the country's flora and fauna, its heroes and famous figures and its historic events.

One of the historic events in Indonesia is this year's general election. So it is no wonder that the general election is also one of the themes found on the postage stamps in the Katalog Prangko Indonesia 1999 (Catalog of Indonesian Postage Stamps 1999) by Abazar et. al.

To mark the first general election in 1955, four postage stamps were issued with the nominal values of 15 cents, 35 cents, 50 cents and 75 cents. These stamps have the same picture and they differ only in color. On the upper edge, the words Republik Indonesia (Republic of Indonesia) are inscribed, while on the lower edge the words Pemilihan Umum Pertama (First General Election) are written. These stamps were publicly launched on Sep. 29, 1955, precisely on election day.

The 1955 general election was the only one held during the Sukarno era, which ended with the beginning of the New Order under Soeharto following the alleged foiled coup attempt on Sept. 30, 1965, by the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

The first general election in the Soeharto era was held in 1971. Strangely, these first elections in the New Order Era, held on July 3, 1971, were not marked by the issuance of postage stamps.

To mark the 1977 general election, three postage stamps with nominal values of Rp 40, Rp 75 and Rp 100 were issued. These three stamps have different pictures. The Rp 40 stamp, with its gray base color, has the picture of a hand putting a ballot paper into a ballot box in combination with the building of the House of Representatives/People's Consultative Assembly (DPR/MPR). Printed with a light brown base, the Rp 75 stamp has the picture of a cotton-plant stem, a rice stalk and the chimney of a factory. The Rp 100 stamp is printed with a red (top) and white (bottom) color base and has the picture of the state's symbol of garuda, a mythical bird believed to be mounted by the Hindu God Vishnu. In the upper part there is the inscription Pemilu 1977 (1977 General Election) and in the lower part the words Republik Indonesia (Republic of Indonesia) are inscribed. These inscriptions are also found in general election stamps which were issued later.

In conjunction with 1982 general election, three kinds of postage stamps were issued with face values of Rp 75, Rp 100 and Rp 200. Although these three kinds of stamps have different pictures, they share something in common: a picture of a hand inserting a ballot paper into a ballot box.

Party logos

Toward the 1987 general election, three kinds of postage stamps with face values of Rp 75, Rp 140 and Rp 350 were issued. They are printed in different colors: blue, yellow and green.

An interesting feature of these stamps is the inclusion of the logos of the political organizations taking part in the general election: the star (the United Development Party), the banyan tree (Golkar) and the bull's head (the Indonesian Democratic Party).

These logos are also seen in the stamps that were issued to mark the 1992 and 1997 elections.

In 1992 three kinds of postage stamps with nominal values of Rp 75, Rp 100 and Rp 500 were issued. Three other stamps were issued to mark the 1997 elections with values of Rp 300 (red and white base), Rp 700 (brownish base) and Rp 1,000 (blue-gray base).

The nominal values of the stamps increase in accordance with increases of postage rates. For example, in 1977 you needed a Rp 40 stamp to send a letter from one place to another within the country. In 1982, the rate was Rp 75 and it remained the same when the 1992 election stamps were issued. But the lowest nominal value of the 1997 election stamps is Rp 300, which means that the rate increased four times in that period. Today, a Rp 500 stamp is required to send a letter within the country.

Except for the 1955 general election, the other election stamps were launched before election day. The 1997 election stamps, for example, were issued on Feb. 3, 1997, long before the election day on May 29, 1997.

This year's general election will take place on June 7, but until today, the stamps have not been available. Pos Indonesia, the state postal company, said the stamps are scheduled to be issued on June 21.

With the exception of the 1955 election series, comprising 4 pieces, all stamps of the election series (from 1977 up to 1997 general elections) comprise three pieces.

We do not know whether or not the three pieces that make up each series is in any way related to the number of election contestants between 1977 and 1997, namely PPP, Golkar and PDI. Or, perhaps this is just a coincidence?

As is known, as many as 118 political parties took part in the 1955 general election. The elections in 1971, the first during the New Order era, was participated in by 10 political parties. Between 1977 and 1997, however, every five-yearly general election was participated in by only three contenders. This year, the number of contestants have risen to 48 political parties.

The stamps of the election series from 1955 up to 1992 share the same size, 2.5 centimeters by 3 centimeters. A new size was introduced for the 1997 election series, 2.5 centimeters by 4 centimeters in a horizontal format.

In terms of print run per series, the Pemilu 1955 series top the list with 10 million pieces, followed by the Pemilu 1987 series with 4 million pieces, the Pemilu 1992 series (2 million pieces, the Pemilu 1982 (1.75 million pieces) and the Pemilu 1997 series (1 million pieces).

Of a total of 19 postage stamps of six general election series, which is the most expensive now? This is the Rp 100 stamp of the Pemilu 1977 series. In new (mint) condition, it can fetch Rp 24,000 per piece, while in used condition Rp 7,800. Strangely enough, the Rp 1,000 stamp from the Pemilu 1997 series, the highest in terms of nominal value of all stamps in the election series, fetches the lowest price: Rp 1,500 (in mint condition) and Rp 420 (in used condition).

In philately, the principle that the higher the value printed on a stamp, the higher its price, does not apply. It is determined by, among other things, the stamp's rarity and design.