'Upset electorate could lead to election boycott'

'Upset electorate could lead to election boycott'

JAKARTA (JP): Including the relatives of top government and
military officials on the list of House of Representatives
candidates could lead to widespread voter apathy and a possible
boycott of the election, two political analysts said Saturday.

"Nepotism is a bad diet for the political system," Ridwan
Saidi, a former legislator who helped found the Independent
Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) last year, told The Jakarta
Post.

"People will lose their appetite in the electoral process and
loath politics altogether," said Ridwan, who served in the House
from 1976 to 1977 as a member of the United Development Party
faction.

"Eventually people will decide to join the ranks of golput,"
he said, referring to the Indonesian abbreviation for golongan
putih, a term for those who abstain from voting.

Arbi Sanit, a political analyst from the University of
Indonesia (UI), said many people would be reluctant to vote for
the candidates put forth by Golkar, the ruling political group.

"The public feels that these candidates would only represent
their families' interests," Arbi said.

The General Election Institute last week announced the names
of more than 2,000 candidates that will contest the election on
May 29. Members of the public have one month to raise any
objections they have to the candidates, who have already been
screened and approved by the government.

Golkar has been facing mounting criticism since the list was
announced, some of which has come from within its own ranks, as
well as charges of nepotism.

Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, the eldest daughter of President
Soeharto and deputy chairwoman of the Golkar executive board, has
defended the selection, which also includes her and her siblings.

"We will respond (to the criticisms) by working harder and
showing our quality," Hardijanti said in an interview with Media
Indonesia daily last week.

She said the criticism showed the voters' growing expectations
of the candidates.

One criticism came from Golkar legislator A.A Baramuli, whose
name is not on the list.

He was quoted by the Merdeka daily as saying that candidates
nominated by virtue of their family connections should withdraw
and develop their political skills first.

"If they are not prepared, they will abuse their positions,"
said Baramuli, who is also a businessman and a member of the
National Commission on Human Rights.

Ridwan said Golkar was unlikely to budge on the issue. "We are
powerless to do anything about nepotism," he said.

Arbi said most of the candidates, as in past elections, would
not take up seats in the House and would make way for other
lesser known candidates after the election was over. But, he
added, they would be given seats in the People's Consultative
Assembly.

He said the few "nepotistic candidates" who had been groomed
to take up House seats should withdraw.

"This is a republic, not a kingdom. Our representatives should
represent everyone's interests. If these candidates go in to the
House, family considerations will prevail," said the lecturer at
UI's School of Social and Political Sciences.

Arbi said many of these candidates had taken up positions that
traditionally have been reserved for representatives from mass
organizations affiliated to Golkar.

In the past, Golkar has drawn its politicians chiefly from
mass organizations like SOKSI, MKGR and Kosgoro.

Arbi said members of these organizations might abandon Golkar
come election time. "They will not vote for other parties, but
they could increase the golput size to more than 20 percent."

The number of golput was estimated at just below 10 percent of
the total number of voters in the 1992 election.

At least two groups have already announced their intention to
boycott Golkar in May.

In Bandung, the Siliwangi Youth Force, a youth wing affiliated
to Golkar, denounced the ruling political group for only putting
two of its leaders on the list of candidates. The group said it
would not take part in Golkar's election campaign, Republika
reported.

In Surabaya, 100 members of the Ansor Islamic Youth Movement
ditched their Golkar membership. They protested Golkar's choice
of candidates for the City Council, which puts an Ansor member
close to the bottom of the list.

Golkar, PPP and the fractured Indonesian Democratic Party will
vie for 425 seats of the 500-member House of Representatives. The
other 75 seats are given to the Armed Forces, whose members do
not vote. (35)