The 1997 election

The 1997 election

The prologue to the 1997 general election kicked off yesterday
with a voter registration drive throughout the nation. It is
estimated that more than half the eligible population will vote
in the election scheduled for May 1997. They will elect 425 of
the 500 members of the House of Representatives (the other 75 are
ABRI appointees), as well as members of the local regional
legislatures.

It will be the sixth general election administered by the New
Order government, a feat which is often paraded as proof of its
political success. Yet, there are indications that the coming
election will be very different from those of the past.

Firstly, most of the aging generation of 1945, the so-called
freedom fighters, will not be candidates for the House of
Representatives. Of course, a few retired armed forces officers
will stay on, but among the civilians there are only a handful of
these fighters left. But a younger House of Representatives is
not an assurance that it will be more energetic, democratic or
open-minded, since the attitude of its members will remain a
reflection of the current political culture, which tends to
encourage the maintenance of the status-quo.

Second, there will be around 20 million first-time voters in
the coming election, a fact which will certainly influence the
outcome of the voting. This group, born in the late 1970s, not
only did not witness the 1965 communist coup trauma, they also
did not experience the political turbulence of 1974 and 1978.
They are in fact the very product of the New Order, and from
childhood they have been brought up in a culture of the free
market, consumerism and globalization; all of which have shaped
their social character.

Naturally, these first-time voters have their own way of
thinking and their own perceptions, which are clearly different
from those of their elders. They enjoy better access to
information but some people may accuse them of having less
idealism than their parents. However it is circumstances that
have helped to make them the way they are. If they are
indifferent to politics, for example, it is because they are the
product of the New Order's depoliticization strategy.

Third, in the last several years we have witnessed the rise of
growing expectations and stronger demands for more open
democracy, particularly among the growing middle class and the
young urban population. These demands must be accommodated,
otherwise there will be disappointment which may lead to
resentment.

In other words, all political parties have to adopt new
strategies to lure voters into their camp. Maintaining the
anachronistic tactics of 15 or 20 years ago may not only be
unproductive, it may well backfire.

We underline this point because one can easily get the
impression that a certain political party is still living in the
mind-set of the 1970s, with its officials practicing the old
strategy of coercion and putting pressure on voters to vote for
their party. In this information age, little can be concealed
from the public and such wrongdoing will merely fuel resentment
and animosity.

One should also keep in mind that as of late there are
stronger indications that a crisis of confidence in the ruling
elite prevails. Today, even high school students and farmers do
not hesitate to vent their anger, whatever the triggering factor
may be, in the presence of hundreds of police officers or
soldiers. Negative as this may be, this fourth factor must be
taken into consideration before one starts to exert pressure on
voters.

The establishment of poll watchdogs is also an indication that
a new political wind is blowing. Trying to curb these
organizations will not only cause headaches but may create the
notion among the public that there are things that certain
officials want to conceal.

For all these reasons and for the sake of preserving social
harmony -- not to mention principles -- we believe that it is in
all of our interests to see a really free, fair, honest and
peaceful general election next year.