The bumpy road to democracy
The bumpy road to democracy
Almost three months since the June 7 general election -- which
many observers still refer to as a landmark for the country after
more than three decades of authoritarian rule -- the electoral
process of putting together a democratic and representative
national legislature is far from complete, even on paper.
Over the past three months, the General Elections Commission
(KPU) has struggled to meet its vote-counting deadlines and allot
seats in the House of Representatives. One problem after another
has cropped up to obstruct the effectiveness of the commission,
thereby reducing its credibility as an independent democratic
institution.
And even though at this stage the only major stumbling block
in the process appears to be the allotment of a few seats in the
House on the basis of residual votes, a smooth finalization of
the process cannot be guaranteed. Protests and objections can
still be expected from dissatisfied parties unacquainted with the
workings of a democratic society.
For an illustration of some of the difficulties which could
await the commission, one only has to look at the protests that
have accompanied the installation of provincial and regency-level
legislatures in various parts of the country over the past week.
In Surabaya, for example, the installation on Tuesday of 43
members of the city's legislative council was interrupted by
protests from legislators from the United Development Party (PPP)
and the minority Justice Party (PK). The legislators were upset
because they felt the inclusion of some members on the council
went against agreed procedures. Similar incidents have occurred
in Bogor and in other provinces and regencies across the country.
Most of the objections -- raised either by fellow members of
the newly appointed legislatures or by protesters demonstrating
outside -- seem to revolve around the question of whether the
unwelcome legislator in question is "reformist" enough to
represent the people.
As seems to be true in many cases, though, these protests
could simply be old-fashioned political rivalries. In any case,
such protests and objections -- minor as they may seem in
comparison to the endless bickering in the KPU and the General
Elections Committee (PPI) -- reflect the difficulty all too many
Indonesians are having in accepting the consequences of
democracy.
Because the names of all candidates for the national and
regional legislatures were published and objections from the
public were invited weeks before the actual balloting on June 7,
the KPU can hardly be blamed for the public's ignorance. For the
most part, it was the haste with which the June 7 ballot was
organized that prevented the public from acquainting themselves
with important details that would have future consequences.
At this point, however, this is all water under the bridge.
Given the urgency of reform and the little time that is left the
commission and the country to complete the electoral process, the
best that can be done now is to make sure no further obstacles
hamper the establishment of a democratic system of government.
Our hope is that all those who have been so honored to
represent the people are aware that the well-being of more than
200 million Indonesians can be ensured only through the
establishment of a healthy and working democracy.