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Editorial: What is on offer?
The legislative election campaign is entering its final phase but Jakartans and people in other cities still have to endure traffic chaos as supporters of political parties hold their rallies
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The legislative election campaign is entering its final phase but Jakartans and people in other cities still have to endure traffic chaos as supporters of political parties hold their rallies. But, in return, what can the people actually expect as a result of the election?
Scenes of this year’s outdoor campaigns, which kicked off on March 16, at a glance were similar to those of five years ago. Party supporters gathered at soccer fields to either listen to speeches or watch their favorite bands’ performances, or simply came for the Rp 20,000 (US$1.7), a box of lunch and a T-shirt.
But things have changed. The current system forces legislative candidates to do door-to-door campaigns, meet their constituents in person and explain their programs as well as the reasons why they deserve to be elected to the public.
However, the campaigns in the past two weeks have been beyond expectation. Instead of introducing their cadres as legislative candidates for the April 9 election, party leaders preferred to talk about themselves and their chances of being elected in the July 8 presidential polls.
They failed to bring up the real issue of who, from some 11,301 legislative candidates, are best to represent the people in the House of Representatives’ 560 seats, adding to the thousands of others nominating themselves for the provincial and municipal/regental councils. Party leaders missed the fact that some 170 million voters deserve to know the parties’ programs in their electoral districts and to get to meet their candidates personally.
The campaigns were more on party leaders claiming the success of their parties or their cadres in the current Cabinet. Many have taken credit for their hard work, but they completely forgot that their “achievements” were nothing compared to their promises made five years ago. The politicians seem to not remember that political communication is more than just the art of rhetorical speeches, political marketing and open promises. Their speeches were no better than salesmen selling detergent. The public needs proof that there will be improvement and development.
Politicians should use the campaigns as the best opportunity to win the hearts and minds of their constituents by showing them the political platforms – which should be convincing enough for the people to believe that they are moving forward together for the better via the new government.
Meanwhile, there is a major threat to democracy in the country. People are afraid that potential fraud in the eligible voters’ list – like the one in last year’s East Java gubernatorial election – could happen on a bigger scale in the upcoming elections. The General Elections Commission (KPU) and the government have been very slow in handling the case properly.
The logistical unpreparedness, including damaged ballots and lack of polling stations in some areas, potential fraud in the elections and empty promises over and over again, has raised a sense of apathy among the public on the legitimacy of the elections.
We can only hope that the election will proceed peacefully and fairly like the 2004 elections. But again, times have changed. We are really worried that we cannot repeat our achievement of five years ago.
