It is a rude awakening in politics: Those who voted in the April 9 legislative elections may now find their favorite parties seeking alliances with partners who are not to their liking.
But, coalitions are nothing new to elections. Nor, as Lord Palmerston once said, is there such a thing as an eternal ally or a perpetual enemy in politics. Only interests are eternal and perpetual, the British statesman said. So, it follows that the enemies of one's enemies are one's friends.
This is what's been happening in front of us this week. Those who voted for nationalist-secular parties such as PDI-P (the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle) may have felt their choices have been spoiled by looming coalitions with two ultra-nationalists clouded with past military abuses.
PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri is moving closer to retired army generals Prabowo Subianto and Wiranto, chairs to the newcomer Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) and the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), respectively.
The generals were among some 20 party leaders and 10 public figures, including former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who met in the house of Megawati in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.
At the meeting they had asked deadly question: Were the legislative elections legitimate? 10 million people had been robbed of their right to vote, they said, because among other reasons their names had not been on the electoral roll.
A score of rights activists present at the gathering threatened to file a civil lawsuit against the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the government, for what they perceived to have been the worst elections since 1999.
To be fair, Indonesia is one of the most complex places to conduct elections in the world, involving 171 million registered voters in 33 provinces and 471 regencies, and with 77 major election districts. The electoral roll has been one major headache for the KPU in the lead up to the elections.
On other end of the political spectrum, incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's secular Democrat Party (PD) is inviting potential partners including Islamic parties such as the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
And judging from the results of the April 9 elections (where people voted overwhelmingly for nationalist-secular parties), if this alliance clicks it could be disastrous for PD in the July presidential election. If PD forges an alliance with Islamic parties, more voters, including the minority non-Muslim voters, will abandon it.
This is one of the epithets of Indonesian politics, showing that the public is still inclined to choose a leader based on personality – a notorious hangover from our feudal past. The other is an apparent absence of ideology.
The government is faced with an urgent problem on its doorstep. In the worst case scenario, some party leaders may refuse to sign the results of the legislative elections or demand repeat elections. Any delays would in turn cause further delays to the presidential election.
If this happens, God forbid, there will be a power vacuum when Yudhoyono's presidential tenure expires in October – and there would be no law to refer to in handling such a turn of events. As such, anything could happen.