Watch Habibie's moves

Watch Habibie's moves

Golkar has finally taken the plunge and named the incumbent
B.J. Habibie as the party's sole presidential candidate before
the general election campaign starts next week. The ruling party
overcame its own apprehensions that, given Habibie's lack of
popularity, naming him as the only candidate could undermine,
rather than bolster, its electoral chances.

The decision came amid accusations made by some of Golkar's
own leaders that the Habibie camp had maneuvered -- including by
buying regional chapters' votes -- to force the party leadership
to settle the issue this week rather than leave it until after
the June elections as was previously agreed.

Underhanded tactics and vote-buying are certainly crafts that
Golkar has mastered. That is how they won six successive general
elections in the past. That such practices continue today even as
Golkar professes reform come as no surprise. Old habits die hard.
But Golkar and the Habibie camp would be well advised to keep
their time-tested tradition to themselves. Times are a-changing,
and such mischievous practices, including "money politics", have
no place in a democratic Indonesia.

Golkar joins a handful of parties contesting the elections
that have named their candidates. The Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan) has chairwoman Megawati
Soekarnoputri, the National Mandate Party (PAN) is fielding
chairman Amien Rais, and the National Awakening Party (PKB) is
expected to name Abdurrahman Wahid, head of Nahdlatul Ulama.

While this upcoming general election is really about winning
seats in the House of Representatives, the big parties have
rightly included their presidential candidates in their campaign
platforms. Naming a candidate can bolster their standing and let
voters know of their intentions in the presidential election in
November. Although most of the smaller parties are campaigning on
platforms aimed at improving the political system, at the end of
the day, voters are still concerned about who is going to lead
the country and ensure that the system really works.

It is now clear that the general election will not produce an
outright winner, and a coalition government is the most likely
outcome. Those parties likely to be part of the coalition
government owe their supporters, as well as potential voters, an
explanation of their plans, including their candidate for
president.

As the current President, Habibie has some advantages over
other candidates. This is also normal in elections in other
countries. But it is wrong to assume that Habibie can abuse his
office to increase his election chances the way his predecessor
Soeharto did in election after election for the last 32 years.

Long before Golkar's announcement of its presidential
candidate on Friday, Habibie's administration had been suffering
from legitimacy as well as credibility problems. Since he never
even attempted to conceal his ambition to retain the presidency,
many of his populist policies appeared to observers as
electioneering maneuvers.

The provision of billions of dollars of World Bank funds for
the poor, for example, was one policy area where Habibie could
easily be accused of buying votes. Recent allegations by the
National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) that money
distributed under the government's social safety net program was
made out to have come from Golkar illustrate the disturbing fact
that it is still too easy to abuse one's power.

Although it is within Golkar's rights to nominate whoever it
wants, Habibie's candidacy has changed the way the public views
the President. Already suspicious of Habibie's intentions from
the moment he stepped into Soeharto's shoes last May, the public
now has an even greater reason to suspect him. People have the
right to scrutinize his every move in the coming weeks and to cry
foul play if they suspect he is abusing his position to further
his reelection campaign.

While it may be improper to ask the President to step down the
way the General Election Commission forced Golkar Chairman Akbar
Tandjung to resign from the Cabinet, it is reasonable to demand
that Habibie restrain his state activities in the coming weeks,
at least during the election campaign period, to the bare
essentials. The last thing anybody wants is for people to accuse
him of anything less than ethical electioneering. If that should
happen, he would destroy what little faith people still have for
him to lead this country, and that in turn could undermine the
general election itself.