Wed, 12 Apr 2000

PDI Perjuangan opposes direct presidential election

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) said on Tuesday that it would fight any move to replace the indirect presidential election mechanism even though the system cost it the presidency last year.

Secretary-general Sutjipto said the party would use its power to block the plan by other parties to amend Article 8 on the presidential election in the 1945 Constitution.

In spite of winning the general election with over a third of the votes in June, PDI Perjuangan chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri failed to secure the presidency in October because she was beaten by the system.

The other parties coalesced to push the election of Abdurrahman Wahid, whose party, the National Awakening Party (PKB), came fourth in the June election. Megawati settled with the vice presidency.

Now with its sights trained on the 2004 presidential election, the party reelected Megawati as chairwoman in a congress last month. However, party leaders are divided on whether to endorse the plan for a direct presidential election or not.

"Megawati has never explicitly proposed a direct presidential election," Sutjipto said after a maiden meeting of the PDI Perjuangan new central executive board at party headquarters in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta.

"PDI Perjuangan will strive to maintain the current political system as outlined by the Constitution," he said.

President Abdurrahman was widely cheered when he told the PDI Perjuangan congress that he would push for a direct presidential election system for 2004 and that he cherished the prospect of running against Megawati in the election.

The People's Consultative Assembly is scheduled to meet in August to discuss, among other things, amending the 1945 Constitution, including Article 8 on the presidential election.

Sutjipto said Megawati did not denounce the indirect election system which cost her the presidency last October, but instead condemned the lack of morality of the other factions for depriving her of her claim to the nation's top job.

"During the election, they deployed every means to block her from winning the presidency," he said.

Sutjipto said adopting the direct election system entailed changing several articles in the Constitution, including the function of the People's Consultative Assembly which has elected Indonesia's past presidents.

The Constitution would also change the way governors and regents are elected, he said.

"This would pave the way for Indonesia to become a federal state. PDI Perjuangan is not prepared to take that risk," he said.

PDI Perjuangan representatives in the Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee, which is deliberating the constitutional amendments, have been ordered to try to keep changes to the minimum.

The party will wage an all-out battle to keep the Constitution as intact as possible, especially with the question of the unitary state of government, he said.

"For PDI Perjuangan, the unitary state system is final. We will never compromise ourselves on this," Sutjipto said.

The party nevertheless will be prepared to contest the election if the majority of the Assembly decides to amend the Constitution in August, he said.

Sutjipto said the party was confident that Megawati would clinch the presidency in 2004 no matter what system is used.

"We are ready because Megawati is popular, as proven in the last elections," he said. (rms)