By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, July 27 (ANTARA) - The Constitutional Court (MK) in its judicial review of Law No. 32 /2004 on Regional Administration early this week issued a verdict allowing independent candidates to take part in regional head elections.
It revoked an article in the law which stipulated that a candidate for a regional head election should be nominated by a political party, thus giving a chance to non-party aspirants to compete in a regional chief race.
With the presence of candidates from outside political parties, people would have an alternative means of channeling their aspirations. But to what extent are people willing to give their votes to independent candidates?
The most recent survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) shows that people support the nomination of independent candidates for regional head as well as presidential elections.
LSI executive director Saiful Mujani said the general public believes candidates for regional head elections and for presidential races should not come from political parties only but also from non-party circles.
He said LSI had asked 1,300 respondents in 33 provinces in Indonesia. About 68.8 percent of them supported independent candidates for presidential races and 70.3 percent agreed that non-party aspirants should also run in regional head elections.
The survey results imply a challenge to political parties. After all, the MK ruling came amid immature development of democracy in the country, marked by frequent political squabbles among the political elite and national leaders who pursue selfish ambitions in the name of the people's interest.
"It is a fact that leaderships provided by political party cadres often result in prolonged conflicts. It happens almost in all Indonesian provinces. Governors and their deputies as well as district heads and their deputies always project lan image of conflict," Emron Pangkapi, a member of the United Development Party (PPP)'s central executive board, said.
Fearing that the cadres they produce will no longer get popular support, political parties cautiously respond to the MK ruling with auto-criticism.
"Political parties in Indonesia are on the brink of disrepute," Golkar Party adviser Surya Paloh warned during a meeting between Golkar Party and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) executives in Palembang recently.
Senior National Mandate Party (PAN) politician Amien Rais corroborated Suraya Paloh's statement.
"I welcome the presence of independent candidates and this should serve as a lesson for the existing political parties," he said.
The PPP also welcomed the warning voiced by Surya Paloh that political parties in Indonesia are now on the brink of disrepute.
Emron Pangkapi said the warning was applicable not only to Golkar and the PDI-P but to all political parties in the country.
"We are all aware that there is a big movement forming public opinion aimed at marginalizing political parties," he said.
He said not only were political parties playing a weak role in reprsenting the people, they have also been also been labeled the most corrupt and most inefficient among exisitng institutions.
"Therefore, PPP hails Surya Paloh's auto-criticism, and it is the need for all political parties to improve themselves through morality movement," he said.
He said he commended Surya Paloh for his courage to voice his auto-criticism that should spur all party leaders to return to the nation's morality agenda.
"Political party leaders indeed are aware of their bad image among the people but only a small number of them frankly admit it as Surya Paloh has done," he said.
He also said it was hardly heard that political leaders would sit together to discuss the crisis faced by the nation.
"We are longing for leaders of political parties are willing to sit together and place the interest of the nation above the interest of their parties or groups," he said.
That's why it would not be impossible if the independent ticket would become a favorable alternative to the recruitment of leaders in all regional government levels after the Constitutional Court issued the verdict, he said.
"This of course would weaken political parties as a means of building cadres for national leadership," he said.
In the eyes of Amien Rais, the chance for independent candidates to win an election is, however small. "It would not be easy for non-party aspirants for political office to win elections," he said.
About the chance of independent candidates to win in the coming presidential election, Amien did not firmly mention the chance for candidates who come from outside political parties.
He only indicated that in presidential elections in the United States so far, no independent candidate had ever won a presidential race.
Ross Parrot, a popular independent candidate, could only win 34 percent of the votes. So far, presidential candidates in democratic countries had always come from political parties, he said.
"History has recorded that national leaders always come from political parties. Soekarno and Hatta (Indonesia's first president and vice president) also came from political parties," he added.
He however acknowledged that the presence of independent candidates would pose a challenge to political parties. "I welcome the presence of independent candidates and this should serve as a lesson for the existing political parties," he said.
He said the presence of independent candidates in elections of leaders of the executive branch of government was to provide optimum political satisfaction to the Indonesian people.
The former chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) said many people in the country no longer believed in political parties' ability to meet their aspirations and had lost respect for them.
So, the presence of independent candidates was expected to serve as an alternative means of channeling their aspirations, Amien said.
"Now, political parties are both posing as well as facing a challenge. We welcome independent candidates, let's fight" he said. (A014/A/HAJM/21:05/... ) (T.A014/A/A014/H-AJM) 27-07-2007 21:13:31
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