Ina Parlina – Political parties are reaping the benefit of incumbency, nominating almost all their currently serving lawmakers for reelection to the House of Representatives in 2014, a watchdog group has said.
A report released by the Indonesian Parliament Watch (Formappi) on Sunday said that 90.5 percent of the 560 incumbent lawmakers from nine major political parties were nominated for reelection.
Formappi released its report after reviewing the provisional lists of candidates for all 560 House races that were submitted to the General Elections Commission (KPU) by 12 political parties last week.
According to the report, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling Democratic Party, tainted by a series of corruption scandals implicating its lawmakers, nominated 133 of its 148 incumbent House members for reelection.
Meanwhile, the Golkar Party nominated 92 of 106 incumbent lawmakers, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) nominated 84 of 94 lawmakers and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) nominated all 57 of its incumbent House members.
The report also said that 42 of 46 incumbent lawmakers from the National Mandate Party (PAN) were nominated for reelection, while the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP) nominated 33 of its 38 incumbents, with its new candidates principally comprising celebrities.
Rounding off the list were the National Awakening Party (PKB), which nominated 26 of its 28 incumbents for reelection; the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, 24 of 26 and the People's Conscience (Hanura) Party, 16 of 17.
The executive director of Formappi, Sebastian Salang, said the ubiquity of incumbents on the provisional list indicated that political parties had failed to introduce a system of rewards and punishments for their politicians.
"They should punish their members who are not serious about doing their jobs as lawmakers by not allowing them to run again," Sebastian said on Sunday.
Formappi previously criticized the House for passing only one of 10 bills given priority on the legislative agenda for 2012.
Some of the major political parties have also nominated incumbents for reelection despite their implication in graft cases.
The Democratic Party, for example, has nominated lawmaker and party deputy executive chairman Max Sopacua for reelection.
Max Sopacua was questioned by investigators at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) after former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin, himself a lawmaker who was expelled from the House after his graft conviction, alleged that Max accepted funds embezzled from a state-funded construction project. Incumbent lawmakers endorsed by the Golkar Party for reelection included Setya Novanto and Kahar Muzakir, both of whom have been implicated in the National Games (PON) graft scandal.
The KPU has said that there was little that the commission could do to block the reelection bids of lawmakers implicated in graft scandals, as the commission, as stipulated by law, could not deny people the opportunity to register as candidates before they were proven guilty.
Separately, Ronald Rofiandri of the Center for Legal and Policy Studies (PSHK) said that the nomination of so many incumbents for the House races showed that parties have been growing more rapacious in their behavior.
Ronald said that the parties evinced few intentions to improve the performance of the nation's legislature.
"It is true that political parties have the privilege to nominate their own candidates, but at least they could make some effort to make themselves accountable to public scrutiny," Ronald told The Jakarta Post.
A political analyst from Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, Arie Sudjito, said that the drive of politicians to clean up the act of the nation's parties had faltered.
"There has been no real reform inside the parties. They have no real commitment and now the public has no options but to vote for those incumbents," Arie said.