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| Prof Ryass Rasyd, Adiaksa Daud, Rahmat Hollyson, Pustaka MPR |
The People’s Representative Assembly (MPR) institute of assessment head Rulli Chairul Azwar commended Rahmat Hollyson and Sri Sundari for their book on the regional elections (Pilkada) titled Pilkada: Penuh Euforia Miskin Makna (Regional Elections: Euphoric but Meaningless) during a book review session on Nov. 19.
Rulli said this year marked a decade since the first regional election was held and that it was time for a reevaluation. According to him, the public wants elections that produce quality leaders and the current system does not live up to those expectations.
Rulii mentioned Law No. 18/1945 on democratic regional elections and direct presidential elections. He admitted that in the reformation era there was public aspiration for an open democracy, and that this had become the reason why the regional elections were also conducted directly, based on the assumption that a leader chosen by the majority would be suitable.
“Direct regional elections are the direct result of the spirit of democracy,” said Rulli.
Between the beginning of the regional elections in 2005 and 2009, around 350 regional elections were carried out. Rulli said that the elections were a constant and ongoing event.
Regional elections, as well as legislative and presidential elections, are an interesting event for the public. They also give an opportunity for political consultants, t-shirt designers, banner makers and other campaign goods creators to rise. Therefore, Rulli said that regional elections also created job opportunities.
Baca juga Pilkada: Calon Tunggal Kepala Daerah Implikasi Kebijakan Yang Tidak Tepat
According to Rulli, the first five years of regional elections in the nation did not experience any trouble, but from 2007 complaints from the public started to arise.
For this reason, there was a reevaluation of regional elections in 2014, mainly caused by a situation where people voted for their regional heads based on the money they would receive. An investigation Rulli conducted found that the reason behind this was that people were weary of the promises that politicians made during their campaign that were never followed through on once they were elected. This made the people more pragmatic in their choices, he said.
Through this observation, toward the end of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s administration, the president and the House of Representative's (DPR) decided that regional elections would return back to the jurisdiction of the Provincial Legislative Councils (DPRD). However, because Susilo couldn’t handle the criticism, he created a government regulation in lieu of law.
Rulli said that Rahmat and Sri’s book contained a lot of information on the regional elections and their history.
The book also talks about how in the reformation era, income per capita and economic and public education levels are still low. There are still many who only obtain es primary school (SD) or junior high school (SMP) level of education. According to the authors, these conditions contribute to a quality of democracy and regional elections that is still sub-par.
“Economic factors and poor education could be the explanation behind the motivation to accept monetary transactions in regional elections,” Rulli said.
Rulli also said that this nation is still in transition and for this reason the people should put safeguards against money politics in place, as such corrupt practices could potentially destroy democracy. He added that this book was rich in information that shows the disadvantages of the regional elections and reminds the public why they are still a work in progress. (liz)
dimuat thejakartapost.com, Jakarta | MPR2015 | Fri, November 27 2015, 8:26 PM
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/11/27/reevaluation-needed-mend-disadvantages-pilkada.html
