Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Political bills prepared by the government and the House of Representatives should provide for a more rigid party system in order to move political parties closer to the people and to pursue popular representation – both at the legislative and executive level.
This idea was floated Tuesday by House member Yasonna H Laoly of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Indria Samego, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), in response to an increased demand for popular representation.
Yasonna said his party was fighting to insert in the bills tougher administrative requirements and a more democratic system in the establishment of new political parties.
"PDI-P believes that the bill on political parties should require support from at least three million eligible voters nationwide for the formation of a new political party, including financial contribution from supporters, mandatory political education for party members and a democratic recruitment of party functionaries," he told The Jakarta Post.
"We are in need of financially and legally strong parties, with officials elected by supporters, rather than appointed by party leaders."
Yasonna said the bill on general elections should also mandate an open electoral system, including legislative candidates with whom voters are familiar.
"Such a system would ensure that parties nominate officials in local elections and qualified senior figures in the presidential election," he said.
"Tougher political bills should help avoid a huge floating mass and swing voters. And tougher bills should qualify legislators and national leaders in future general elections."
Indria of LIPI agreed that political parties have to undergo a gradual reform to bring them closer to the people.
"Political parties function not only to recruit public officials through general elections but also to mediate between the people and the government," he said.
"Political parties have (been) nothing more than money makers by nominating themselves instead of party officials in local elections. And this has resulted in regional heads who have less commitment to improve social welfare and democracy."
Indria also said the establishment of local parties and the nomination of independent candidates for local and presidential elections was not an appropriate answer to national parties' poor performance.
He said performance issues had to be addressed by empowerment through political bills and that Indonesia still needed three more general elections in order to build a better party system, produce effective legislatures and to build strong national and local leaders.
The Center for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (Demos) has called for dramatic changes to political bills in order to pursue popular representation; ensure quality general elections; and to build strong legislatures and government in the future.
Anton Prajasto, deputy executive director of Demos, said the democracy launched at the start of the reform era in 1998 had stagnated because political parties during the past two elections had fought only for the interests of party elites, their power holders and domestic and foreign investors.
Civil society, including Demos and other NGOs, has called for political laws which would allow the establishment of local parties and the nomination of independent candidates in local and presidential elections. They say this will provide the people with a fairer alternative when electing their next leaders.