M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)'s suggestion that the presidential election be held before the legislative poll has drawn criticism from political analysts.
PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri called for the early election Sunday. She was quoted by her deputies as saying that an early presidential poll would strengthen the country's presidential election and boost candidates' chances of winning.
Megawati, president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004, was beaten by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the 2004 election after she lost the support of party members whose resources had been sapped by the legislative election.
She is reported to have instructed lawmakers to work for the adoption of the proposal during the deliberation of a new package of political laws this year.
J. Kristiadi of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said that changing the schedule of the elections would be difficult as it would involve a comprehensive amendment of the country's political laws.
He said that instead of working to change the schedule of the presidential election, the PDI-P should start forging a coalition to nominate a candidate.
"And if the PDI-P wants to strengthen the presidential system, it could propose giving veto powers to the president or stripping some of the House of Representatives' excessive powers," Kristiadi told the Post.
Analyst Ray Rangkuti of the Civil Society Circle described the PDI-P's proposal as "ridiculous".
"How can you stage a presidential election without knowing which political parties have garnered a significant enough number of votes for them to be able to nominate candidates," Ray, a former national coordinator of the Indonesian Election Monitoring Commission told the Post.
He added that if the proposal were adopted it would have grim political implications.
"There will be a period of six months in which the legislature is powerless as its members gear themselves for the elections, while a new president has already been elected. This will be very dangerous, as there will be no institution to oversee the executive," he said.
Ray said he doubted that the PDI-P proposal was aimed at improving the country's political system.
"It is borne out of their concern about losing another presidential election because all their financial resources have been used up in the legislative election. This also lays bare the fact that what matters most in elections is money," he said. Lawmaker Ferry Mursyidan Baldan of the Golkar party agreed with Ray.
Ferry, who chaired a House special committee tasked with deliberating a package of political laws for the 2004 elections, said that a legislative election was needed to name the parties eligible to nominate presidential candidates.
"Under the present regulation, the result of legislative elections decides which political parties can nominate candidates," Ferry said.
However, Syamsuddin Haris of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences was positive about the move, although he said the 1945 Constitution would have to be amended to accommodate it.
"It is a good idea, but difficult to follow up as it will involve the amendment of the state Constitution, which stipulates that the presidential poll comes after the legislative election," Syamsuddin told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Syamsuddin is the head of a team being consulted by the Home Affairs Ministry in the drafting of the new political law that will serve as the legal basis of the 2009 elections.
He also said that the proposal would meet with opposition from political factions in the legislature that were opposed to making amendments to the Constitution.