The PDI quandary

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.