The PDI quandary

Although the general election was almost a month ago and final poll results are scheduled to be announced Monday, it seems that the problem of allotting seats in the new House of Representatives (DPR) and People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) remains a quandary for party leaders and the authorities concerned.

At the core of the problem is the dismal performance of the strife-torn Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). With just over 3 percent of the votes, the PDI is expected to be allotted no more than 10 seats in the legislature. This is a long way short of the minimum 13 seats which a party must have in order for the national legislature to be able to function in accordance to the rules.

This minimum number of seats is required because all the three parties -- the dominant Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the PDI -- together with the Armed Forces faction must be represented in the House leadership and in each of its 11 commissions, where every bill must be jointly deliberated. Hence Golkar chairman Harmoko's offer to donate the group's excess votes to PDI earlier this month.

As might have been expected, Harmoko's proposal was rejected outright by the Moslem-based PPP party. The PDI also failed to warm to the generous offer, expecting it would impair not only the party's prestige, but also its credibility in the eyes of voters. As for the PPP, a trading of votes without a pre- balloting agreement could make its supporters feel abandoned, even betrayed in their trust.

The question now is, how to get out of this precarious situation. A solution will have to be found soon, as time is running short for making preparations for the crucial period that lies ahead. With the nation poised to draw up a new outline for state policy and elect a national leader to usher us into the new millennium, the country cannot afford to waste time bickering over legalistic details.

It is in this context that we must take note of Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono's recent urging for the PPP and PDI to put national interest before their own and retract their objections to vote trading. The government's eagerness to resolve the impasse can also be gauged from the recent visit made by a top- ranking home ministry official to the PPP headquarters, ostensibly to persuade the party's leaders to accept a trading of votes.

Understandably, there are many pros and cons associated with post-balloting vote trading. Political analysts Riswanda Imawan and Alexander Irwan, for example, have said that helping the PDI to gain seats in this manner would be unethical, since people vote for their favorite parties, not their rivals.

Others have proposed that the House accept the existing realities and modify its 14-year-old internal rules to allow the decision-making process to proceed without the presence of PDI legislators. The PDI's decline in popularity signals the existing reality that the party has lost the confidence of the majority of its supporters, thus making it a rather poor representative of the people.

Whatever the solution -- and finding one is a matter of urgency -- the decision should manifest our respect, as a nation, for the law. Surely, it is not difficult to see the absurdity of the situation if we were to install a national legislature by bending the law as we see fit.