Orderly campaigns
Orderly campaigns
Although the rules that have been set down by the General
Elections Commission in Decree No. 701/2003 last year were
obviously welcomed by the Indonesian public, a number of
questions remain that need to be cleared up well before the
three-week long campaigning period ahead of the April 4
legislative elections kicks off.
The problem is not so much the fear that the nation's newly
found freedom -- especially the freedom of expression -- could
spark off inter-party clashes that could prove to be too strong
for the security officers to contain and resolve. The problem
centers on whether the Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu)
is adequately equipped to monitor, interpret and intercede in
cases of unfair treatment of election candidates, real or
perceived.
Already, a number of parties have complained that election
supervisory committees in different regions appear to be either
exploiting existing loopholes or interpreting the details of the
decree differently.
The Jakarta General Elections Commission, for example, has
reported two political parties to the police for staging of
campaign activities well ahead of March 11, which is the date the
commission has named for campaigning to start. Similarly in
Banjarmasin, in the province of South Kalimantan, officials have
questioned the leaders of 17 political parties accused of
cheating by starting their campaigns early.
So far, however, these "early campaigns" have been relatively
innocent, limited to marches and parades staged by party
supporters in their hundreds, outfitted in official party
uniforms and carrying their party's banners.
Nevertheless, the fact that so many parties have deemed it
proper to cheat on the regulations, even if not overtly, gives
some cause for worry of what might be in store for the public
once the official campaign period begins. Also, Indonesia's
political parties still seem to find it difficult to shake off
the old tradition of staging large and noisy parades as a means
of seeking victory in elections.
General Elections Commission Decree No. 701/2003 makes it
clear that campaigners must be decent in their use of language in
speeches, and refrain from directly attacking or vilifying rival
parties in the elections. Campaigns must be both orderly and
educational for the public at large -- that is to say, they must
"provide useful information and educate the voters," the
commission's decree stipulates. To be sure, in past years too
general elections were held under similar -- if far less
stringent and elaborate -- regulations, yet sporadic cases of
violence among supporters of different parties could not be
entirely prevented.
In any case, the new regulations do raise the hope that this
time around the election campaigns, which will last from March 11
to April 1, can effectively help to educate the Indonesian
electorate. Surely, it is with this purpose in mind the decree
states in Article 4 that the election campaigns must be designed
to inform the electorate of the vision, mission and programs of
the participating parties concerned. Further, they must inform
the electorate in sufficient detail of the policies the parties
in question plan to execute once they are in power.
Such an achievement could help bring about the gradual
emergence in this country of an electorate that is more informed,
more educated and more responsible than those of the past.
Achieving that goal would certainly enhance the good repute the
General Elections Commission has already earned for itself so
far. Of course, it will be a little difficult to expect,
especially with the constant threat of violence hanging like the
sword of Damocles over the head of Indonesians, that the general
election in April will be totally void of destructiveness and
violence.
However, if that goal can be achieved -- even if small
incidents of violence do occur here and there -- this country
will have made an important step toward building a sound and
healthy civil society. That would be one of the most important
achievements of the 2004 general election.