Golkar foresees landslide win in 1997
Golkar foresees landslide win in 1997
SEMARANG (JP): Top leaders of the ruling party Golkar are
predicting a landslide victory in next year's general election.
However, an intellectual warned contestants yesterday that
electoral victory, no matter by how big a margin, would be
morally useless if it is gained through coercive means.
Golkar chief Harmoko and his deputy Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana
separately asked cadres to work hard to ensure a big win for the
political organization.
"Golkar might not grab a 100 percent victory because it has
two 'counterparts' in the race," Harmoko, who is also the
minister of information, said in Denpasar, Bali, yesterday.
The "counterparts" that Harmoko mentioned refers to Golkar's
competitors, the Moslem-oriented United Development Party (PPP)
and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI).
The three contestants will compete for the 425 of the 500
seats in the House of Representatives. The remaining 75 will be
reserved for the Armed Forces.
Golkar, which the military founded in 1964 to counterbalance
the Indonesian Communist Party, currently dominates the House
with 282 seats. The PDI has 56 and PPP 62.
Harmoko said Golkar, which has strong backing from the
military, will set a target when its leaders meet in October.
He said he was optimistic Golkar will perform better than it
did in the 1992 election because it now has 36 million registered
members.
"If each member has five relatives supportive of Golkar, then
the political organization will get 180 million votes. A pretty
good showing," he said as quoted by Antara.
Indonesia has a population of 195 million. The government is
yet to announce the exact number of eligible voters.
In Semarang, Hardiyanti Rukmana said she was optimistic Golkar
would be able to increase its seats in the House because its
members are more solid than ever.
"But it is important for Golkar members to note that they will
never be able to achieve targets without working hard," he said.
To win public sympathy, Golkar has been focusing on issues
that concern the basic needs of ordinary people, said Hardiyanti,
President Soeharto's eldest daughter.
Observers generally agreed that Golkar will still emerge as
the winner in the 1997 general election, the fifth since
President Soeharto rose to power 30 years ago.
With strong backing from the military, business groups and the
four million-strong civil service as well as the bureaucracy,
Golkar is believed to be able to maintain its domination in the
House.
The government's unwritten policy of it being mandatory for
civil servants and retired military officers to vote for Golkar
has constantly come under attack from PPP and PDI.
Votes for PDI are expected to drop due to the ongoing
leadership conflict. PPP's performance is generally expected to
be consistent as its power base remains the Moslem institutions.
Meanwhile, Novel Ali, a political expert from Diponegoro
University said that the political organizations should play
fairly in fighting for votes.
"Victory will not mean anything unless it is gained by honest
means. Golkar, PPP and PDI should keep this in mind," he said.
He said all contestants should play fairly so that no one goes
to the polls because of intimidation.
According to Ali, the contestants should uphold political
morality in competing in next year's election and avoid
Machiavellian means. (har/pan)