PBB fears deadlock over presidency

JAKARTA (JP): Leading politician Yusril Ihza Mahendra expressed concern over the possibility of a deadlock in the November presidential election if poll contestants, all fielding their own candidates, could not agree on the winner.

The chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) said during a discussion at The Jakarta Post on Thursday that parties, now trying to outdo one another in boasting about the number of votes they expect to win in the general election and about their presidential candidates, should anticipate a deadlock.

He said the 48 political parties contesting the general election would find it difficult to win a simple majority, and even the winning party's presidential candidate could be effectively blocked if the smaller parties decided to coalesce to challenge the candidate.

Should this situation occur, he said, the political process of the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the establishment of a new administration could be disrupted.

He proposed that political parties agree in advance to let the winning party's presidential candidate prevail. "No matter what party is the winner, its presidential candidate should be elected."

Other parties could then "share power" by having their members placed in the new administration, he said.

He said it would be difficult to have a coalition of parties form a government because the 1945 Constitution adhered to a pure presidential system. Under this system, it is the prerogative of the president-elect to establish a government, he said.

Therefore, it is more important for parties to work toward an agreement to avoid a deadlock than to discuss which person should become president, he said.

The Crescent Star Party at its recent congress named 10 leaders as "prospective presidential candidates". The list has been circulated to its so-called "voters corps" in the 327 regencies across the country, who will select the party's presidential candidate.

Even though the selection process is underway, Yusril declined to name the strongest contender to become the party's presidential candidate. The party will make its candidate known only after the general election, he said.

"What if a party nominates its own presidential candidate and turns out to win only 5 percent of the vote," he asked.

Yusril, a constitutional law expert who used to lecture at the University of Indonesia, is one of the party's presidential candidates.

He is also said to be among the strongest contenders along with candidates such as Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Megawati Soekarnoputri of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and President B.J. Habibie of Golkar Party.

Other prospective candidates are Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X and Gen. Wiranto, the minister of defense and security/commander of the Armed Forces.

Article 6 of the 1945 Constitution says: "The president and vice president are elected by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) through a majority vote."

Debates have begun on how a party can garner support from various factions within the 700-member MPR to form a majority vote to establish a government.

The MPR will consist of 462 elected members of the House of Representatives, 38 unelected House members from the Armed Forces, 135 regional delegates and 65 delegates from societal groups.

Yusril refused to say how many votes his party hoped to gain in the elections, saying announcing a target could encourage the party's grassroots supporters to fight or even cheat in order to reach the goal.

"What's more important to us is a political education for the people... we established the party not solely to contest this election, but also to help find alternative solutions (to the political crisis)," Yusril said.

Yusril, who was accompanied by party leaders Farid Prawiranegara, Fadli Zon, Toni Karim and M.S. Ka'ban, also discussed reports in the mass media that the elections would fail.

He conceded that preparations for the elections had not been going well, but "if the elections failed, we would see chaos, which would justify the military coming and taking over (power)."

He also said: "Please bear in mind (history shows) that when the military takes over power, it keeps it for at least three decades."

He believes that, following the resignation of former autocratic president Soeharto, now is the time for civilians to play their part and lead the country.

"This is not a question of good versus bad, but that we have to choose the lesser of two evils," he said. "If the polls were delayed for 10 years (until all parties believed they were ready), people would (find another fault, namely) that Habibie had longer to enjoy (power)."

"I believe having the polls (even with various faults) is still better than not having them." (aan/swe)