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emocracy, which the country adopted decades ago, has ensured a regular rotation of the elite, or leaders, through a free and fair mechanism that involves the general public, according to the Constitution. But here in Indonesia, the law allows party leaders to circumvent democracy at will, as in the case of three elected Golkar Party legislative candidates who have been shown the door because they refused to follow the party'€™s decision to support presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate, Hatta Rajasa.

Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie signed a letter of dismissal for Nusron Wahid, Poempida Hidayatulloh and Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, who were all reelected as House of Representatives members in the April 9 legislative election, for violating the party'€™s statutes by campaigning for rival presidential candidate Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and vice presidential candidate Jusuf Kalla. The General Elections Commission (KPU) will likely scrap the three from the list of 560 legislative candidates to be sworn in as House members for 2014-2019 on Oct. 1, as they no longer have any party affiliation.

Golkar is not alone in adopting this draconian policy, which is legitimate under the revised 2002 law on the composition of the People'€™s Consultative Assembly (MPR), the House and regional legislatures. The National Mandate Party (PAN) fired its lawmaker Djoko Edhi Soetjipto Abdurrahman in 2006 and the National Awakening Party (PKB) dismissed its legislators Effendi Choirie, alias Gus Choi, and Lily Chodidjah Wahid, alias Lily Wahid, in 2010 for disregarding party policies.

The three politicians contested their dismissal at the Constitutional Court with a motion for a judicial review of the law, but the court upheld their expulsion.

Nusron, Poempida and Agus may try their luck at the Constitutional Court, but the chances of them winning look slim given the previous foiled attempts. But herein lies the paradox of Indonesian democracy.

The political party'€™s right to recall its representatives in the legislative bodies at both the national and regional level was annulled in the wake of political reform in 1999. However, it took the political elites only three years to restore their power. The House'€™s move to reinstate party leaders'€™ authority to recall in 2002 came amid constitutional amendments that switched the center of power from the executive to the legislative branch.

Post-reform political parties have therefore restored the authoritarian nature of Indonesian politics that they had previously denounced. Party bosses hold absolute power to not only nominate legislative candidates but also to dismiss them regardless that they are elected by the people. Who do the party elite think they are that they can, according to the law, nullify the wishes of the people?

The authority to recall is not only an insult to democracy but also a threat, since democracy means government by the people. As long as this power remains intact, party bosses will have a chance to impose their will on their lawmakers, who take an oath to serve the people.