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Weak opposition to undermine House
Gerindra will be the only party from the opposition camp that will secure leadership position at the House.
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An file photograph shows a meeting at the House of Representatives. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he House of Representatives is expected to become dry land for critical voices as the Gerindra Party is projected to lead a weak opposition to balance the allies of incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo that have become the majority of the legislature.
Projected to become the third-largest party in the House with 78 seats, the party, which is led by losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, will be the only party from the opposition camp that will secure leadership position at the House.
Article 427 of the Legislative Institutions (MD3) Law stipulates that House speakership consists of one House speaker and four deputy speakers from the top five political parties with the most votes.
Gerindra will join the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the ruling party from the Jokowi coalition that has been announced the winner of the legislative race, along with other members of the coalition, the Golkar Party, the NasDem Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB).
Three other political parties that supported Prabowo during the general election—the Democratic Party and National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS)—will still get seats at the House but not in the leadership.
Even if Gerindra is able to rally support against parties supporting Jokowi, it will still be outnumbered— as the latter parties are projected to dominate about 60 percent of House seats.
The Indonesian Parliament Watch (Formappi) has pointed out that the opposition power will not be strong enough to significantly influence lawmaking, hence, there is worry that there will be a lack of voices critical of the government.
