PARTICIPATION IN POLLS IS A RIGHT OR OBLIGATION?

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Dec 14 (ANTARA) - Less than four months before the quinquennial legislative election is held in Indonesia on April 9, 2009, one of the issues that have surfaced in public discourses is the 'golput' (deliberate non-voters or an acronym for 'golongan putih'), a local term used to refer to a group of eligible voters who decide not to use their voting rights.

        Concerns on a possible increase in the number of 'golputs' have been raised in public debates of late, particularly following a call by a national figure on his sympathizers to stay away from the election.

        The call might not have a significant impact on the voters as a whole. Yet, as it was made by former president Abdurraman Wahid or Gus Dur, who is also former chairman of the largest Muslim organization Nahdatul Ulama (NU), it soon sparked controversies.

        "He should have not made the call. He is a statesman and should not voice anything not good for the nation," General Elections Commission (KPU) Chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary said.

        Anshary is not alone in disagreeing with the former president's move. The General Chairman of the NU Executive Board Hasyim Muzadi has even stressed that NU members have the obligation to participate in elections.

        Last month, Gus Dur, who is chairman of the Legal Council of the National Awakening Party (PKB) called on PKB regional branches to boycott the legislative, regional representatives (DPD), and presidential elections next year.

        "We will boycott all the elections," Abdurrahman Wahid said.

        Gus Dur called for a boycott to show his discontent with the KPU which only recognized the PKB executive board under Muhaimin Iskandar while the one under his leadership was not registered as the legitimate PKB.

        The KPU recognized the leadership of Iskandar who had won a legal battle against Gus Dur in the leadership split case of the PKB.

        Gus Dur said he was optimistic that his calls would be followed by his supporters. "All of the 420 units of PKB that have the right to take part in the elections will boycott the polls," he said.

        However, KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary regretted the former president's call, saying the law required all components of the nation to support the implementation of the general elections. The elections would be carried out with the participation of the people.

        According to PBNU general chairman Muzadi, members of NU should not join the 'golput' groups of voters.

        "Casting a vote in the general elections is a process of building the state. In this context, it is obligatory for NU members to involve themselves in it," Muzadi said.

        Muzadi even referred to an NU forum held in Lombok to discuss the matter. In the runup to the general elections in 1997, NU through the Lombok Ulemas forum discussed the legal (religious) aspect of exercising a voting right in the elections.

        "Participation in elections is obligatory. However, NU will not prohibit its members from becoming a 'golput' because it concerns their own personal political interest," he said.

        What has been decided during the Lombok Ulemas forum might be a kind of edict, particularly for Muslim voters, issued to prevent them from boycotting the elections.

        According to the Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Hidayat Nurwahid, edicts issued by religious organizations that ban people from joining the (golput) group are effective to increase people's participation in the polls.

        "There have been edicts on 'golput' issued by religious organizations such as the one by NU," Nurwahid told the press on Friday.

        Nurwahid, who is former president of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said that such edicts were important to make the elections a success but suggested that people should adopt proportional attitude because there was also a national figure who had called on people not to use their voting rights.

        A high people's participation in the elections indicates that they have become more mature in exercising their democratic rights.

        Therefore, edicts that call on people to cast their votes are good for democracy. An edict is an effective means to prevent people from obeying a call for elections' boycott.

        House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker Agung Laksono, however, does not agree with the issuance of edicts which ban people from withholding their votes from the general elections.

        "I do not agree with the idea because the participation in an election is not an obligation. Our law does not require people to take part in a general election. So, I am just referring to the law. To my mind, it (the idea) is wrong because participating in an election is only a political right," Laksono said on Friday.

        He said the law did not require people to exercise their voting right. "So, what we can do is only giving abstainers good advice and suggestions," he added.

        Laksono said he was also against putting negative labels on people who refused to take part in elections, or who preferred to join 'golput' (abstainer) groups.

        He called on political parties and their leaders to conduct an introspection. "We had better not judge those who join the 'golput' groups. Maybe, it is the behavior of the political parties or their leaders that has to be improved," Laksono said.

        The same opinion is also expressed by Anas Urbaningrum, an executive chairman of the Democrat Party.

        "Edicts banning people from joining the 'golput' groups are not needed because casting a vote in an election is a right not an obligation," he said. "Abstaining from the election is a right, though it is not good for democray."  (T.A014/A/HNG/B003).14-12-2008 23:00:39