Political platform decisive factor for party coalitions

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Political parties should form coalitions based on common political platforms, instead of short-term political interests, and do it well before the election as a good start to forming a strong government, according to several political experts.

Commenting on the deliberation by the House of Representatives on the presidential election bill, analysts said that political coalitions based on short-term interests would only create an ineffective government in the future.

Article 5 of the bill stipulates that presidential candidates should be nominated by political parties or party coalitions simultaneously with the nomination of candidates of legislative members.

There is, however, no regulation that makes clear whether a coalition should be based on a political platform or simply on political interests to contend presidential elections.

Jimly Ashiddiqie, a law expert at the University of Indonesia (UI) in Jakarta and Saldi Isra, a political expert at the Padang- based Andalas University suggested that the coalition formation should be based on platform similarities.

Political parties are expected to form coalitions in facing the general and presidential elections because none was expected to win a single majority in the 2004 elections.

"If the coalition is simply based on short-term interests to win the presidency, it will only create "horse trading" among political parties. Such coalitions will easily break up in near future and will not be able to form a strong government," Jimly told The Jakarta Post by phone on Sunday.

Saldi concurred, suggesting that the coalition should be based on similar platform or idea. Perhaps, he said, some parties have similar goals to bring the nation out of the multidimensional crisis.

They feared that if the coalition was based on short-term interests, the difference of their ideology or platform would weaken the coalition.

On a series of hearings with special committee deliberating the presidential elections bill, however, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno clearly said that the coalition was only designed for short-term goals, namely the presidential nomination.

Hari simply said that the bill was designed to ensure the elected president originated from a political party or coalition which dominates the legislature.

According to him, this condition would help create a strong government in which the president gets the support of legislators.

Besides calling for political parties to use common ideology as a basis for coalitions, both Jimly and Saldi suggested that the coalitions should be made as early as possible to win support from prospective voters.

The earlier the coalition was made, Saldi said, it would help the public or voters to be rational in casting their votes.

"Let's say that the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Golkar have built a coalition for the presidential election. Will the people vote for such a coalition?" Saldi asked.

He emphasized that the earlier the political parties declare a coalition, the more it would benefit voters.

Similarly, the minister said that the bill encourages political parties or coalitions "to market" their presidential and vice presidential candidates during the campaign.

He added that the presidential candidates and their respective political parties could not be separated.