New voting system appears complex but more reliable

Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A plethora of political parties and a long list of candidates await voters in the 2004 election, but analysts say the extra trouble may ensure elected lawmakers will heed voters' interests instead of only those of their own party.

"The election bill aims to bind better legislators with their constituents," said political analyst and member of the General Elections Commission (KPU) Mulyana W. Kusumah on Wednesday.

The House of Representatives is deliberating new elections legislation as a consequence of the recent amendment to the 1945 Constitution.

Under the revised Constitution, the People's Consultative Assembly consists only of elected representatives of regions and political parties, leaving out the current interest groups.

But demands for a more accountable legislature are driving the debate for new elections legislation.

The present law adopts a proportional system, meaning voters elect political parties that appoint their members to the legislature based on their share of the popular vote.

Critics say this method distorts voter representation and is blamed for lawmakers bowing more to the interest of their parties than of constituents.

Political analyst Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia suggested the adoption of the district system, which would enable voters to choose their representatives directly, making for a more legitimate and accountable representation.

But Mulyana added the election bill appeared to be aiming for the middle ground between the district and proportional system.

Article 6 of the bill calls for a proportional system while introducing what is called an open candidate list. The list names party candidates whose total number is twice that of the seats available in one election area, then leaves it up to voters whom to choose.

"Parties may appoint their candidates; however, the final say rest with the voters," Mulyana explained.

But the downside of the open list system is the sheer number of candidates voters must sift through. Under the bill, each party may submit two candidates for every seat at the legislature, or in total 1,100 candidates for the House's 550 seats. More than 200 new political parties have lined up to join the 2004 ballot.

To cut back on the number of candidates, election areas will be allotted only a share of the House's 550 seats, whereas the political party bill also aims to slash the number of parties through stringent qualification requirements.

An alternative to an open candidate list is a closed one, where political parties select their candidates from an internal list of the party.

Legislator Firman Jaya Daeli of the largest party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), favored the closed candidate list.

According to him, the open list was difficult to implement because of the size of ballot papers needed on which to list the candidates.

The larger the paper, the higher the risk they would get damaged, which would render the papers invalid, he argued.

Mulyana, however, said legislators feared the open list system might spark rivalry between candidates from the same party, thus threatening their unity.

"There is a desire among parties to go back to the proportional system for fear of splitting up," he said.