On nonvoters

In democracies, failing to vote may be justified if the voter cannot find a least-worst candidate, rarely the case. In Indonesia, however, it seems some voters feel they face an election that is more festival than democracy. By not voting, it is arguable that a voter denies legitimacy to the current electoral process.

A vote sacrificed now, to encouraged the authorities to hasten the democratization process, may seem a good deal, particularly if today's vote carries scant value. Possibly, a Golput (nonvoter) vote is the most influential of all. This is an election, after all, where analysts will study nuances and trends, not the final 70.02 percent result.

The government guards the Golput and no-show figures more closely than it guards the results of the opposition parties, which surely speaks volumes, and it has tied itself in knots trying to suppress the Golput debate without further trivializing the democratic process.

And remember, an essential ingredient of any democracy is a measured disrespect for government authority.

TIM RICHARDSON

Jakarta