Name : Kristina Carlen Pangemanan

NPP : 32.0828
Class : G-4
CHAPTER VII
HISTORY OF ELECTION IN INDONESIA

Elections in Indonesia have taken place since 1955. At a national level,

Indonesian people elect a head of state – the president – and a legislature. The

president is elected for a five-year term, as are the 550-member People's

Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, DPR) and the 128-seat Regional

Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah). The Council is elected by

proportional representation from multi-candidate constituencies. Under Indonesia's

multi-party system, no one party has yet been able to secure an outright victory;

parties have needed to work together in coalition governments. The voting age in

Indonesia is 17 but anyone who has an ID card (Indonesian: Kartu Tanda Penduduk

(KTP)) can vote. People under 17 who are married can get a KTP.

Early elections (1955)

Indonesian legislative election, 1955 and Indonesian Constituent Assembly

election, 1955. Indonesia's first general election elected members of the DPR and the

Constitutional Assembly of Indonesia (Konstituante). The election was organised by

the government of Prime Minister Ali Sastroamidjojo. Sastroamidjojo himself

declined to stand for election, and Burhanuddin Harahap became Prime Minister.

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The election occurred in two stages:

 The election of the members of the People's Representative Council, which

took place on 29 September 1955. Twenty-nine political parties and

individuals took part;

 The election for the members of the Constitutional Assembly, which took

place on 15 December 1955.

The five largest parties in the election were the National Party of Indonesia

(Partai Nasional Indonesia), Masyumi, Nahdlatul Ulama, the Communist Party of

Indonesia (Partai Komunis Indonesia, PKI), and the Indonesian Islamic Union Party

(Partai Sarekat Islam Indonesia).

Beginning of the New Order (1971)

During the first twenty-five years of New Order government, there were five national

elections. Indonesian legislative election, 1971 The first election after the

establishment of the "New Order" took place on 5 July 1971. In other words, The

1971 election was Indonesia's second general election since independence and the

first since 1955. (Provincial elections were held in 1957.) Ten political parties

participated. The five largest political parties were Golkar, Nahdlatul Ulama, the

Muslim Party of Indonesia (Parmusi), the Indonesian National Party and the

Indonesian Islamic Union Party. Golkar and nine other parties ran, compared with

twenty-eight parties in 1955. The outcome was predictable given the rules of the game

and the resources available to the government supporters. Golkar won more than 62

percent of the vote. The four Islamic parties shared 27.1 percent of the total, led by

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Nahdatul Ulama's 18.7 percent. The remaining 10.1 percent of the total was scattered

among the other five parties.

Elections under the New Order (1977–1997)

Elections following the mergers were held under the government of President

Suharto. In accordance with the legislation, these were contested by three groups;

Golkar, the PPP and the PDI. All elections in this period were won by Golkar. To

ensure that Golkar always won more than 60 percent of the popular vote, the New

Order regime used a number of tactics. These included:

 Reducing the number of opponents: In 1973, the existing political parties were

forced to merge into the United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian

Democratic Party (PDI). These were the only parties allowed to contest

general elections.

 Weakening the remaining opponents: The two political parties were forbidden

to criticize government policy, and the government had to approve all

slogans they used. Furthermore, they were not allowed to organize at the

village level (where the majority of Indonesians live). To stop the rise of

charismatic figures, their candidates had to be vetted by the government.

When a potentially charismatic figure (in the form of founding president

Sukarno's daughter Megawati Sukarnoputri) became leader of the PDI, the

government engineered a political convention in Medan in 1996 to remove

her. Ironically, the ensuing disturbances at the PDI's Jakarta headquarters

began a chain of events that indirectly led to the downfall of the New Order.

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  Coercion to vote Golkar: Civil servants were ordered to support Golkar, or

face accusations of insubordination. Private sector workers were reminded of

the need for "stability". Many people believed the vote was not secret, and the

government did little to persuade them otherwise. Many voters were still at

school, and they were warned by teachers of a link between their choice at the

ballot box and exam success

 The vote-counting process: The Golkar votes were counted first, then those of

the two other parties. In the 1997 election, by 9pm on the day after voting,

Golkar had already been awarded 94% of its eventual vote. By contrast, the

PPP had been credited with less than 10% of its final tally.

 Vote-rigging: Although the counting at the local ballot boxes was conducted

in public, with the ballot papers held up and the scores marked on boards, it

was at the later stages where irregularities were frequently reported.

 Multiple voting: There was no effective way of determining who had already

voted, allowing many to do so more than once

Election reforms (1999–present)

The 1999 election was the first election held after the collapse of the New

Order. It was held on 7 June 1999 under the government of Jusuf Habibie. Forty-eight

political parties participated. The six largest parties which passed the electoral

threshold of 2% were the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (Partai Demokrasi

Indonesia Perjuangan), the reformed Golkar Party, the United Development Party

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(Partai Persatuan Pembangunan), the National Awakening Party (Partai

Kebangkitan Bangsa), the National Mandate Party (Partai Amanat Nasional), and the

Crescent Star Party (Partai Bulan Bintang).

Under the constitution, the new President was elected by members of both

houses of Parliament in a joint sitting. This meant that although the Indonesian

Democratic Party-Struggle won the largest share of the popular vote, the new

President was not its nominee, Megawati Sukarnoputri, but Abdurrahman Wahid from

the National Awakening Party. Megawati became Vice-President.

During its 2002 annual session, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)

added 14 amendments to the Constitution of Indonesia. Included in these amendments

were measures to reorganize the Indonesian legislature. Beginning in 2004, the MPR

would be composed of the existing People's Representative Council (DPR) and a new

Regional Representative Council (DPD). Because all the seats in the MPR would be

directly elected, this called for the removal of the military from the legislature, whose

38 seats for the 1999–2004 period were all appointed. [6] This change and an

amendment for direct election of the President and Vice President were major steps

for Indonesia on the road towards a full democracy. The 2004 legislative election was

held on 5 April 2004. A total of 24 parties contested the election. The Golkar Party

won the largest share of the vote, at 21.6%, followed by the Indonesian Democratic

Party-Struggle, the National Awakening Party, the United Development Party and

newly formed Democratic Party. 17 parties won legislative seats.

2009 legislative and presidential elections

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Legislative elections for the Regional Representatives Council and the People's

Representative Council were held in Indonesia on 9 April 2009. The presidential

election was held on 8 July, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono winning

enough of the vote to make the run-off election unnecessary. (adopted from

http:www.wikipedia.org./wiki/Pancasila_(poltics), tanggal 3 Juni 2013, pukul 14.00) (adopted from http:www.ifes.org)

GLOSSARY LIST

 Taken place
 Elect
 Representative
 Council
 Proportional
 Constituencies
 Multy-party
 Outright
 Victory
 Coalition
 Voting
 Declined
 Stand for
 Legislative election
 Establishment
 Mergers
 Contested
 Regime
 Opponents
 Existing
 Forbidden

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  Criticize
 Village level
 Vetted
 Disturbances
 Downfall
 Coercion
 Accusations
 Insubordination
 Reminded for
 Ballot box

COMPREHENSION

Select the correct way to complete the following sentences

1. When the 1st Indonesia election haven taken place ?

a. 1945

b. 1955

c. 1960

d. 1965

2. There are some requirements for following the election in Indonesia,

except......…..

a. The voting age in 17 years old

b. Having ID card

c. Citizen of Indonesia, who are married and having ID card

d. People Under 17 years old

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3. What did elect by Indonesian in the first general election on 1955?

a. The People Representative Council

b. The President

c. Vice President

d. The Constitutional Assembly of Indonesia dan The People

Representative Council

4. Who was organised the first general election on 1955?

a. Burhanuddin harahap

b. Sukarno

c. Ali Sastroamidjojo

d. Muhammad Hatta

5. How many political parties which participated in the first election in the New

Order (1971)?

a. Five parties

b. Ten parties

c. Fiveteen parties

d. Nine parties

Topic for Class Discussion

1. Why has none party yet been able to secure an outright victory?

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................

2. Whom elected the council.............................................................…….............................

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 ............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

3. What were the tactics that used by new order to win the election?

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

4. What members elected in Indonesia’s first general election 1955?

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

............................................................................................................................................

5. What are the differences between the general election before and after new order?

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

...............................................................................................................................……

Complete the following sentences in your own words

1. The early election (1955) occured in two stages, they are…...........................

..............................................................................................................................

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 ..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

2. There are five largest parties which followed the election on 1955, they

were.............................................................................................................….....

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

3. One of the tactic that is used by the new order is reducing the number of

opponents, it means............................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

4. Election reform was……...................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

5. There were six parties which passed the electoral threshold, they were...…..

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

..............................................................................................................................

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 WRITING PRACTICE

WRITE DOWN IN A FULL SENTENCE, THE MAIN IDEA OF EACH

PARAGRAPH OF THE TEXT ABOVE.

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Vocabulary

From the list provided select all of the words that may properly be used to fill each
blank space. There is no limit to the number of times you may use each word nor
to the number of words that may be used in each blank space. Nouns may be used
in either the singular or the plural, and verbs in any tense.

institutionalization process rowdyism

elements feedback rallies

applied strict five

Television elections mobilize

Criticized channel Functioning

commision programs Participants

period results Constraints

designate government minority

Pancasila legitimacy campaigns

elector candidate contributed

1. The ...................... did not vote for a particular .......................... but for the

party, which if it won would ................................ the representative from

the party's list.

2. The ........................................ were organized by the ...................................... -

appointed election commission headed by the minister of home affairs.

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3. All ............................... were conducted in the framework

of ........................,democracy which meant that in the twenty-five-day

campaign ......................, reduced in 1987 from forty-five

days,...............................government policy and ....................... could

be ...................... only warily and indirectly, and the president could not be

criticized at all.

4. ........................ campaign rules ....................... For the 1992 election,

automobile rallies and picture posters of political leaders were banned. No

PDI posters of Sukarno, for example, were allowed.

5. Large outdoor...................... were discouraged, which meant that acts of

violence and ........................... by youthful .................... in the "Festival of

Democracy" decreased in 1992.

6. Radio and ....................... appeals had to be approved in advance by the

elections .................... There was no campaigning at all in

the .............................. days before the elections.

7. Even if there had been fewer .......................... on campaign freedoms,

the ........................ in terms of structural impact on the .............................. of

the government would not be much greater than those engendered by the

large number of appointed members of the DPR and the .....................

position of the elected members of the DPR in the MPR.

8. Even so, elections did matter. They were one of the ..................... in

the .......................... of the New Order system. It was estimated that 111

million Indonesians were eligible to vote in 1992.

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 9. Giving the broad population a sense of participation ................ to

regime .......................... The elections also provided, to some degree,

a .......................... of public opinion feedback to the government.

10. Finally, the election process helped to .......................... the public to support

government policy. The .................... and mobilization function of the

electoral ........................ was becoming more important as the number of

voters who had no direct memory of pre-Suharto Indonesia increased. The

1992 election saw 17 million first-time voters.

Complete the following table.

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

1. - - Representative -

2. - - Proportional -

3. - Criticized - -

4. elections - - -

5. - functioning - -

6. minority - - -

7. - - successive -

8. Competitiveness - - -

9. Population - - -

10. mobilization - - -

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Oral Practice

1. Triumphed, majority 7.component, withdraw

2. Precipitious, attributed 8. Polls, elect

3. Destruction, party 9. Party, resurrected

4. Dominated, politics 10. Constituent, submerged

5. Concentrated, military 11. Leader, accepted

6. Emphasize, discontinuity 12. Opted out; competition

Writing Practice: Use each group of words in a sentence

1. Dominated, succesive, election

2. Loyalty, electoral, government

3. Swept, provinces, lose

4. Victory, made, recapturing

5. Led, fear, single

PREPOSITIONS

Supply an appropriate preposition for each blank space

1. The June 9, 1992, election had no surprises. ............. a calm and orderly

atmosphere, more than 97 million Indonesians voted, 90 percent of the 108

million registered voters.

2. Golkar won 68 percent of the popular vote, down by 5 percent ...........

1987, but nevertheless very satisfactory ............. the government.

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3. Golkar support ranged........... a high of more than 90 percent......... Jambi,

Lampung, and Nusa Tenggara Timur provinces to Jakarta's 52 percent.

4. The PPP held its own with 17 percent of the vote and, at least......... the

official final tally, actually ran ahead of the PDI........ Jakarta with 24.5

percent of the vote........ the PDI's 23.1 percent.

5. The support....... the PDI, the closest........ a "democratic opposition" party,

jumped........... 10.9 percent........ 1987........ 15 percent.

6. These figures translated............. 281 DPR seats......... Golkar (down 18

seats ..........1987), 63............. PPP (down 2 seats), and 56.......... the PDI (an

increase of 16 seats).

7. The outcome of the 1992 election led......... some cautious conclusions. The

election was "routine" because the earlier polarizing issues of Pancasila

democracy had already been firmly resolved........... the government's

advantage.

8. .............. the stakes seemed even lower than.............. previous elections, there

was a lack of political passion.......... all sides.

9. The decline............... the Golkar percentage may be partially attributed.........

ABRI's distancing itself........... active intervention......... behalf of Golkar as

a sign that it should not be taken....... granted.

10. It did not appear that Suharto's campaign......... woo the Muslims had an

appreciable electoral result. The PDI apparently won the largest number of

first-time voters. Its rallies attracted a youthful crowd, many............. voting

age, and suggested that a basis did exist.............. future increases...........

voter support.

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