The 560 new legislators and 132 regional representatives who won seats in the April 9 legislative elections are scheduled to be sworn in tomorrow (Thursday).
Many observers have speculated on what the political mapping at the House of Representatives will look like and on whether it will be able to support the checks-and-balances system.
Will the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) form a strong opposition or join President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party-led coalition?
Both major parties, which together won more than 30 percent of votes in the elections, have yet to officially decide on this matter.
But many others have expressed high hopes for the new legislators to repair the House's badly tarnished image and poor performance in the next five years, since around 70 percent of the new legislators are new faces, more than 90 percent have a university education and most are younger than the current House members.
Could the new faces, high education and the age factor assure that they will be free from corrupt practice and fight for their constituents more than for their political parties and their own pockets?
The presence of new faces is nevertheless expected to bring a new atmosphere to the House.
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