Simultaneous polls unworkable: Analysts

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Fri, 02/09/2007 5:00 PM

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It is impossible for a big nation like Indonesia to effectively organize multiple democratic elections for the same day, two political analysts have argued.

Daniel Sparringa of the Airlangga University in Surabaya, East Java, and Indra J. Piliang of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) put their argument forward during a discussion in Jakarta on Thursday. They said that since democratization is a long and costly process, Indonesia simply can't pursue such an ambitious project while still staying true to democratic ideals.

In drafting political bills for the 2009 general election, Golkar and other groups have floated the idea of holding the legislative election, the executive election and the regional representative election simultaneously within one day.

They have argued that simultaneous elections would be more efficient and less of a burden on voters.

However, Daniel said the proposal would be unrealistic.

He said he agreed in principle with simplifying the organization of general and local elections, so long as changes did not affect their free and fair operation, or people's ability to fully participate.

He said the one day suggestion was not new, as major democracies such as the United States and India have considered similar changes.

Daniel proposed two alternative plans for organizing efficient elections.

He said one plan would be to divide elections into three phases -- the legislative and regional representative elections, the presidential and vice presidential elections and simultaneous local elections nationwide. ""This would be more efficient than the elections held since 2004.""

He said the second plan would be to conduct elections in four phases, starting with the legislative and regional representative elections, the presidential and vice presidential elections, the provincial and regency legislative elections, and the election of governors, regents and mayors.

""The provincial and regency legislative elections should be held two years after the legislative and presidential elections while the regional head elections should be held six months after the presidential election,"" said Daniel.

Daniel said the presidential election should be held after the legislative and regional representative elections because presidential candidates are nominated by political parties that have an adequate number of seats in the parliament.

Daniel acknowledged that his plans could not be immediately put into effect.

""The two plans could not be implemented for the 2009 general election because many regional heads such as governors and regents have recently started their five-year terms in office,"" he said, adding that the plans could be implemented as of 2011.

Separately, Indra argued general elections should be divided into separate legislative and executive elections.

""The separation between executive and legislative elections will not only make the elections more efficient but also allow a ruling government to he held accountable and to continue its delayed programs if it is elected for a second five-year period,"" he said.

Indra, however, said that holding the elections separately would raise serious problems for the Constitutional Court in handling a possible abundance of conflicts arising from the presidential election and a total of 473 local elections nationwide.

""Conflicts in the presidential election could create a power vacuum if the Constitutional Court couldn't settle them immediately,"" he said.

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