Susilo sets up team to lobby political parties

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta

The Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono-Jusuf Kalla ticket have set up a special team to ensure the pairing's victory in the second round of the presidential election in September.

"The team will be led by Susilo himself. It consists of 35 members drawn from the Democratic Party, the Crescent Star Party (PBB) and the Indonesia Justice and Unity Party (PKPI)," said a team member, who requested anonymity.

The team is expected to lobby several political parties in a bid to win their support for the ticket in the runoff, he said.

The team is hoping to gain the support of the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and some other minor parties.

"There have been some informal talks with representatives of these parties," he said.

Susilo is currently leading in the provisional tallies for the July 5 election, garnering 31.6 million, or 33.47 percent, of the 94.4 million votes counted as of 8 p.m. Monday.

Trailing behind him are Megawati with 26.2 percent of the vote, Gen. (ret) Wiranto on 22.1 percent, Amien Rais on 15 percent, and Hamzah Haz on 3 percent.

Susilo and Megawati have been scrambling for the support of Golkar, PAN, the United Development Party (PPP), and the PKS.

Meanwhile, Syamsuddin Harris of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said on Monday that regardless of the legitimacy of the president elected in the Sept. 20 runoff election, he or she would be powerless before the House of Representatives (DPR).

He said that the newly amended Constitution gave too much power to the legislative branch at the expense of the executive branch.

"I agree that the direct presidential election provides strong legitimacy -- from the people -- for the elected president. But such legitimacy will not be evident in the relationship between the executive and the legislature, even if the executive appoints a Cabinet that accommodates the major parties," Syamsuddin told The Jakarta Post.

Under the newly amended constitution, the appointment of ambassadors, the chief of the Indonesian Military (TNI), chief of the National Police and the establishment of ministerial offices all require the approval of the House.

He said the direct presidential election did not guarantee that the president would be able to carry out his or her policies effectively.

Instead, the system would only force the executive to enter into more political compromises with the legislature as the latter was invested with vast powers by the amended 1945 Constitution.

In the July 5 presidential election, Susilo has gained an unassailable lead over Megawati with more than 70 percent of the votes already counted.

The election results will likely open the way for a Susilo- Megawati showdown in the runoff election on Sept. 20.

In the April 5 legislative election, the Golkar Party took the biggest single share of seats in the House of Representatives, winning 128 out of the 550 seats. The PDI-P finished behind Golkar with 109 seats, while the United Development Party (PPP) won 58 seats to finish third.

Susilo's Democratic Party finished fourth with 57 seats, followed by the PKB with 52 seats.

The disparities between the April 5 and July 5 election results will force the winning candidate to enter into a coalition in order to enhance his strength vis-a-vis the legislature, a political analyst from Airlangga University, Daniel Sparringa, said.

"If Megawati wins in the runoff, a coalition between the two largest parties -- the PDI-P and Golkar -- would give her full power over both the executive and the legislature.

"But if Susilo wins in the Sept. 20 election, the legislature will be encouraged to play the role of a pure checks-and-balances mechanism as regards the executive," Daniel told the Post.

"Thus, if Susilo wins the Sept. 20 election, he and his cabinet will be in a weak position as regards the legislature as his party does not have a majority of seats in the House. He will have to accede to the legislators' decisions, especially in respect of the state budget," Daniel said.