Stop election process of Jakarta governor

Stop election process of Jakarta governor

Azas Tigor Nainggolan, Chairperson, Jakarta Residents Forum (FAKTA)

Apart from being a province Jakarta is the country's capital,
and so it should serve as an example for other cities regarding
policies or development programs. However, the example so far
displayed by Jakarta has been far from exemplary. In politics,
social, economic and cultural aspects, Jakarta has set a
misleading example. Its policies and programs have sided with the
few and tend to be against the poor. There is little space for
democracy. Jakarta today belongs to the powerful and the rich,
the latest evidence being the ongoing process of the election for
governor.

The process, which now involves seven pairs of candidates for
governor and deputy, has disappointed many Jakartans. Since the
beginning of entire process, the city council did not issue clear
rules of the game. What it provided was no better than the rules
to elect a neighborhood chief. This is because the process has
lacked transparency and tends to involve collusion.

There have been several violations of the council's own rules.
Candidates running for governor became candidates for deputy
governor, such as Fauzi Bowo and Abdillah Toha; the time for
registration of candidates was extended because of pressure from
a certain party, administrative violations and the council's
decisions on candidates for governor and deputy governor, made at
inquorate meetings.

The criteria for screening candidates were unclear and the
process was not made public. The election committee revealed a
number of inconsistencies, including the above extension of the
registration period of candidates. Then a number of figures who
are suspected of abuse of power made it through the screening:
The incumbent, Sutiyoso, who was Jakarta military commander at
the time of the violent attack on the headquarters of the
Indonesian Democratic Party in July 1996; and Tarmidi, who is
suspected of manipulating official notices that enabled
councillors to conduct comparison studies abroad (the "Ancolgate"
scandal).

It's easy to imagine the bleak destiny of this city if one of
these people becomes our governor. Meanwhile none of the people's
choice made it through the candidate screening.

This shows that our councillors support Sutiyoso's political
ambition to become Jakarta governor for a second time.

The Council has continued to ignore all the feedback from the
public. It is clearly not the people whom they represent,
but political parties and other powerful groups. Forgetting the
"public interest", which comes up unfailingly in its rhetoric,
the Council has failed to resist intervention from government
parties or owners of capital with political or economic
interests. The election has become an absurd parody of itself and
even ordinary people know that "money politics" is behind it.

The play became even more absurd when it was time to decide on
a secret ballot in the election. To fight for their candidates
councillors who were either for or against Sutiyoso drew up the
election rules. They fussed over technicalities such as whether
to write candidates' names, tick them or pierce the names on
ballot papers. Their arguments ended in deadlock. Those opposed
to Sutiyoso insisted on ticking or piercing candidates' names, to
avoid "money politics" subverting the election. This possibility
has been admitted by a number of councillors.

The tension over the technicalities revealed clearly that the
representatives were far removed from the real interests of
Jakartans. They should have been tirelessly debating how to elect
a governor and deputy who met the wishes of the public, whose
integrity was unquestioned and who was not a human rights
violator.

To avoid further mistakes the legislative council must cancel
the whole process. New, clear rules must be drawn on the election
regarding the mechanism, which should involve active
participation from all elements of society. This would mean a
direct election, through which people would be able to make
independent judgments and vote for those whom they thought best
could lead Jakarta.

Direct elections would involve a number of stages: First, stop
the current elections; second, have Sutiyoso resign instead of
extending his term or supporting him for another term on the
grounds of maintaining the city's security. Jakarta under
Sutiyoso been neither secure nor a pleasant place to live for its
residents.

Third, appoint a caretaker to prepare direct elections to be
held by mid-2003; the caretaker should also continue the tasks of
the governor. Fourth, make amendments to all legal instruments
related to the election process. These are the law on regional
autonomy and law no. 34/1999 on Jakarta as the capital,
particularly its clauses on the head of the administration.

By 2003 we should have a governor who is not an authoritarian
ruler. A leader who responds to the aspirations of his city and
has good managerial ability. A city is not a dead thing like a
machine to be operated according to the whims of its operator.
Acquiring such a leader is only possible if the participation of
its residents is closely involved in the creative process of the
city's development.