Political analysts shun district electoral system
Political analysts shun district electoral system
JAKARTA (JP): Leading political analysts agreed yesterday that
proportional representation is the best system for Indonesian
elections.
Lt. Gen. (ret.) Harsudiono Hartas, a member of the Supreme
Advisory Council, Matori Abdul Djalil, a legislator of the United
Development Party (PPP), B.N. Marbun, a legislator of the
Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), and Maswadi Rauf, a political
observer, all agreed that the proportional representation system
is more appropriate than the first-past-the post system.
They did conclude however, during a one-day seminar on an
Ideal Election System in Indonesia held by the Union of
Indonesian Catholic Students, that the current proportional
system does need to be implemented better.
Under a first-past-the post system, locally called the
district system, each seat in the House of Representatives would
have to be contested in every district, with voters electing
their representatives rather than the political parties.
Under the existing proportional representation system, the
people don't vote for individual candidates, but rather for one
of the three parties. The seats in the House are then distributed
according to the share of the total vote each has won.
The discussion was expected to help the Indonesian Institute
of Sciences in its research of the best and most applicable
electoral system for Indonesia.
President Soeharto asked the institute last month to study the
possibility of changing the electoral system from the current
proportional representation to a first-past-the-post system.
Soeharto also asked the institute to review the methods by which
Armed Forces officers in the House are appointed.
Soeharto made his request in response to public debate on the
issue and because of charges that democracy in Indonesia is a
sham.
The PDI and the PPP have called for a revamp of the electoral
system but have refrained from endorsing the district system.
They instead argue for the better supervision and administration
of the general elections.
In the last election, Golkar won 68 percent of the votes, the
PPP 17 percent and the PDI 15 percent. Four hundred of the 500
seats in the House were divided accordingly. The other 100 seats
are reserved for ABRI, whose members do not vote.
Harsudiono Hartas said the advantage of the proportional
representation system was that even the smallest party could be
represented.
The district system is regionally oriented, though the
selected representatives are more reliable in terms of the
voters, he said.
Harsudiono, formerly chief of the armed forces' socio-
political affairs, also said that the implementation of the
proportional system costs less compared to the district system,
which would have expensive election campaigns.
B.N. Marbun assured that there is no perfect election system
in the world.
"The U.S., even though it declared independence more than 200
years ago, still has weaknesses in the implementation of its
democracy," he asserted.
He said the best election system in Indonesia is the
proportional system because it prevents conflicts between
different religions, ethnic groups and interest groups.
Marbun, who is also a member of the National Commission on
Human Rights, said that under the proportional system defeated
political parties could still be represented in the House or the
provincial legislative council.
He noted, however, that implementation of the proportional
system should be reviewed so that elections will be conducted
fairly.
Matori Abdul Djalil supports the proportional system but
warned that the government should not side with any of the
contesting parties.
He stressed the importance of all parties having
representatives in the general election committee as witnesses.
Maswadi Rauf, who also supports the proportional system,
listed the various negatives of the district system.
He argued that the district system allows the winner in an
election to take it all with small parties getting no seats in
the House.
"If the district system is adopted, Golkar will spare no seats
for the PPP and the PDI because it has more followers and money
than the other political parties," he explained.(imn)