• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
When Cards Are on the Table
The debate on the Legislative General Elections Bill enters its final stage. There is noconsensus about six of the issues yet.SINCE two weeks ago, Novotel Hotel on the fringe of Bogor, West Java, has become anarena of political talks. Seventeen members of the General Elections Bill formulating teamhave moved their office there. “We meet every day until almost midnight,” said AgusPurnomo, a member of the Justice & Prosperity Party (PKS) faction.It is natural for the members of the House of Representatives (DPR) to work extra hard.When the Special Committee on the Elections Bill was formed in June last year, itsChairman, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, boasted that the regulation as the basis for the holdingof the 2009 General Elections would be ready to be endorsed in December 2007. Now,three weeks have gone beyond the deadline.With this delay, many circles fear that the smooth implementation of elections next year isthreatened. Moreover—even after intensive discussions—until the end of last week the billwas far from finished. “Of the inventory of 1,300 issues to be resolved, we have onlyreached item number 420,” said Andi Yuliani Paris, Deputy Chairman of the Elections BillSpecial Committee from the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction last week.In fact, the cause of stagnation has remained the same. From the start, the SpecialCommittee has indeed been divided into two opposing camps: the group of major parties—the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Golkar Party—versus that of medium- and small-sized parties. Nearly all parties whose vote gains are not as big asthose of the two giant parties join the second camp.Both groups are in conflict over at least six issues: the allocation of seats per constituency;the mechanism of determining elected candidates; the counting of vote remainders; thenumber of DPR members; the application of minimum vote gain limits for parties entitled tobe represented in the DPR (or the parliamentary threshold); and the model of vote casting.More than just technical procedures of the election system, the six battlefields represent abigger war involving the survival of the parties themselves. As Andi Yuliani put it, “It’s amatter of survival.” It’s already public knowledge that the PDI-P and Golkar want to simplify the multipartysystem in Indonesia through the 2009 elections. “Ideally there are only seven to eightparties,” said Yasonna Laoly, Deputy Chairman of the Elections Bill Special Committee fromthe PDI-P. According to him, the large number of parties today is not compatible with thestrengthening of a presidential government. “This idea is also in line with the GeneralElections Bill drafted by the government,” added Yasonna.To achieve this, Yasonna indicated that his party would like to reduce the number of seatsstrived for in each constituency, from the original range of three to 12 seats, to only threeto six seats. Automatically the chance of small parties to gain seats will drasticallydecrease.If they pass this hurdle, small parties are still not free. There is yet another snag: the PDI-Phas proposed that only political parties garnering votes above three percent of the totalturnout are represented in the DPR. “In many other countries, such a parliamentarythreshold rule is normally applied,” he noted.
 
Unsurprisingly, medium and small parties are crying foul. But their camp has found the rightanswer. “Changing the composition of constituencies will open the Pandora’s box,” said AndiYuliani. In her belief, a lot of regencies and cities will question the pattern of their territorialmergers into new electorates. The General Elections Commission will also have a hard time. “We don’t have time for that,” she pointed out.Every time the debate is deadlocked, the meeting chairman at Novotel will ask the DPRexpert staff to simulate election vote counting with the options available. By this method,the parties benefiting from and disadvantaged by each option become clear. “If this attemptfails, the relevant provision is usually left out until later,” added Andi Yuliani.With the pressing time, imminent deadlocks, and heaps of work yet to be finished, there isno wonder that voting has been proposed as a short-cut scenario. Furthermore, the generalelections law debate five years ago also used this method.On February 18, 2003, the DPR plenary session discussing the elections bill in fact endeddramatically. The Elections Bill Special Committee after working seven full months failed tocomplete the manuscript of this law. At least nine crucial issues were not yet conclusiveuntil the last moments.Like the present state, the DPR politicians were then also split into two camps. Thedifference was that Golkar had to face the PDI-P at that time. The Golkar faction insistedthat PDI-P’s proposal to prohibit defendants from becoming legislative candidates bedropped. Admittedly, Golkar General Chairman Akbar Tandjung was facing State LogisticsAgency corruption allegations. The PDI-P was in turn cornered by the rule banning publicofficials from campaigning. The PDI-P could have been helpless if Megawati Sukarnoputri,then-President of Indonesia, had not been allowed to display her charm.The session was later adjourned to enable inter-faction lobbying. Negotiations dragged forhours. Finally, at the end of the meeting, several issues had to be settled through voting.Will the same scenario recur? “We are avoiding voting,” said Yasonna. In his view, votinggives the impression that parties are only thinking of their own interests. Andi Yulianiagreed.Attempts to seek a middle path have indeed been made. Besides the formulating team inBogor, the Special Committee has also formed another team especially to try to findcompromise. The decision was made in an inter-faction meeting at Sultan Hotel, Jakarta, inearly January. “Faction and party leaders are included in this lobby team,” said LukmanHakim Saefuddin, Chairman of the United Development Party (PPP) faction.This lobby team meets weekly to reconcile the political positions of both camps, inch byinch. The lobbyists’ latest meeting was at Le Meridien Hotel, Jakarta, last weekend. “Compared with the previous period, now our relations are far smoother,” revealed Lukman.The atmosphere of suspicion and prejudice is minimized. “We used to be guessing whatmotives were behind this or that proposal,” he said. Now all parties are already open. “Allcards are already laid on the table,” added Lukman.So he was convinced that there will be no voting. “If any, there won’t be as much as fiveyears ago,” he indicated. Lukman admitted that one or two articles might not be fullyagreed upon. But various offers for compromise are being explored.
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...