Sutiyoso's reelection

Sutiyoso's reelection

Jakarta governor Sutiyoso apparently believes in the curative
power of spanduk, those colorful, slogan-filled banners that
adorn Jakarta's bridges and roadsides. Ever since he defied the
wall of public opposition and won a second term as governor in a
sham election, they've been erected around the city to tell us
that we, the people of Jakarta are in fact delighted at his
success.

And there I was thinking he was tremendously unpopular, we are
all apparently supposed to think, "But now I've read the spanduk
I realize I was wrong about this man the whole city loves. I
could kick myself".

Of course, no minds have been changed. Sutiyoso's track record
was so poor and the election process so deeply flawed that the
overwhelming mood among Jakartans is one of cynicism and anger.
Perhaps most galling was the pretense that the process was
democratic, the fantastic gulf between what the elections
pretended to be and what they actually were.

I would like to propose two possible ways to close this gulf
and ensure the next gubernatorial election is less exasperating
than the one we've witnessed.

Firstly (and far from ideally), the election system could be
changed to institutionalize the current reality. This is probably
the alternative that Sutiyoso and his kind would like the best.
For example, if the current reality is that the president decides
who the governor will be and the election is just a rubber stamp,
then how about getting rid of the election part of the process
altogether? Let the president appoint the governor directly and
stop pretending that there's any democracy involved.

A second, better, approach would be to draw up and enforce
democratic gubernatorial election laws to ensure the best
candidate won and punish any vote-rigging severely. This obvious
(but strangely illusive) option is what the people of Jakarta
want, and would solve the kinds of legitimacy problems that
plague Sutiyoso in a way no congratulatory spanduk ever could.

So what's it going to be, as we look forward to the next
gubernatorial election? Do the government and legislators want to
continue accepting and legitimizing this sleazy process, or will
they work to implement proper democratic institutions? To
generate even more ridicule or begin to win trust? The choice is
theirs, but do they even care?

ANDREW TRIGG, Jakarta