Shortening election process
First of all, heartiest congratulations to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on the occasion of his assuming office on Oct. 20 as the very first directly and democratically elected president of Indonesia.
The event was of such epic and monumental importance that, for the first time in many years, many presidents and prime ministers of neighboring countries came to be part of this historical moment.
What needs to be done now is to shorten time between the three phases of elections (Indonesians have successfully performed) and also the time gap between the election of the President and his taking oath of the office. It would be worthwhile if Indonesia sought some practical help or tips from India as a fellow developing country which has a huge population and has been a genuine democracy for more than 50 years. It also has a distinction of being a country which successfully staged a general election in May this year, covering about half a billion voters exercising their right to vote electronically, making it possible to declare the results within some 48 hours after the closure of polling process.
There may be many countries in the world who have electronic voting, but India is the only one which has the indigenous know- how, huge population of diverse educational and social levels, and a successful track record.
Indonesia could follow India's example to shorten the whole process by more than 50 percent. After the president's election is announced, how long should be the time before he takes oath? In India and in Great Britain it is done immediately. In the U.S. it takes about 10 weeks and in Indonesia it took two weeks from official announcement of results, but perhaps four weeks from the date the outcome was obvious! I think Indian and British system is better. If the new leader does not assume office immediately, a lot of questionable decisions "which raise eyebrows" as reported by The Jakarta Post, are taken in a malafide manner. The minimum the Indonesian constitution can provide is to declare the incumbent government as "caretaker" of government with limited powers in decision-making!
K. B. KALE, Jakarta