Political platform decisive factor for party coalitions
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.