Indonesian legislative election, 1992

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Indonesian legislative election, 1992
Flag of Indonesia.svg
  1987 9 June 1992 1997  

400 (of 500) seats of the People's Representative Council

 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Leader Wahono I. H. Metareum Suryadi
Party Golkar PPP PDI
Last election299 seats, 73.11%61 seats, 15.97%40 seats, 10.87%
Seats won2826256
Seat changeDecrease2.svg17Increase2.svg1Increase2.svg16
Popular vote66,599,33116,624,64714,565,556
Percentage68.10%17.01%14.89%
SwingDecrease2.svg5.01%Increase2.svg 1.04%Increase2.svg4.02%

MPR & DPR leadership before election

Kharis Suhud
Golkar

New MPR & DPR leadership

Wahono
Golkar

Coat of Arms of Indonesia Garuda Pancasila.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Indonesia
Pancasila(national philosophy)
Constitution
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Indonesia's sixth legislative election, and the fifth under the New Order regime, was held on 9 June 1992. Although the share of the vote won by Golkar declined, and the two parties saw their votes rise, the government organisation still won a clear majority.

Indonesia Republic in Southeast Asia

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometres, the 14th largest by land area and the 7th largest in combined sea and land area. With over 261 million people, it is the world's 4th most populous country as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.

The New Order is the term coined by the second Indonesian President Suharto to characterise his regime as he came to power in 1966. Suharto used this term to contrast his rule with that of his predecessor, Sukarno. The term "New Order" in more recent times has become synonymous with the Suharto years (1966–1998).

Golkar political party in Indonesia

The Golkar Party or Party of Functional Groups is a political party in Indonesia. It was founded as Sekber Golkar in 1964, and participated for the first time in 1971 as Golkar. At this point, Golkar was not a political party. In 1999, forced by the new election law, the groups reformed itself as a political party.

Contents

Background

In 1973, the government 'obliged' the nine political parties of the time to fuse themselves into the Islamic United Development Party (PPP) and the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI). The only other participant for all the elections held during the New Order regime was Golkar, the "functional group". [1]

Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God, and that Muhammad is the messenger of God. It is the world's second-largest religion with over 1.8 billion followers or 24% of the world's population, most commonly known as Muslims. Muslims make up a majority of the population in 50 countries. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, unique and has guided humankind through prophets, revealed scriptures and natural signs. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the verbatim word of God, and the teachings and normative example of Muhammad.

United Development Party political party in Indonesia

The United Development Party is an Islam-based political party in Indonesia. Due to its distinctive logo, the party is nicknamed "Kaaba Party".

Indonesian Democratic Party

The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) was one of the two state-approved parties during the New Order era of the late 20th-century in Indonesia.

In the run up to the election, the PPP worked hard to position itself as a party that was not extreme in its outlook, and that was not an opposition force, in an effort to bring about an open and participative political culture in which the party would play a more meaningful political role. Long before the election campaign, the PPP had decided on President Suharto as its presidential candidate for the 1993-1998 term. [2]

Suharto 2nd President of the Republic of Indonesia

Suharto was an Indonesian military leader and politician who served as the second President of Indonesia, holding the office for 31 years, from the ousting of Sukarno in 1967 until his resignation in 1998. He was widely regarded by foreign commentators as a dictator. However, his legacy is still debated at home and abroad.

Since its 1996 Congress, the PDI had striven to increase party unity and put an end to internal party conflict. It tried to position itself as the party of the "little people" to take advantage of public dissatisfaction. It also tried to portray itself as the most nationalistic party and raised issues such as social inequality and emphasized its anti-foreign aid stance. [3]

Golkar had its share of internal problems, mainly caused by the fact it was a more complex organization than the two political parties, resulting in sometimes poor coordination between the center and the branches in provinces such as Riau, West Kalimantan, and North Sulawesi. It also faced demands for more openness and to respect human rights. [4]

Riau Province in Indonesia

Riau, is a province of Indonesia. It is located in the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. Until 2004 the province included the offshore Riau Islands, a large group of small islands located east of Sumatra Island and south of Singapore, before these islands were split off as Riau Islands Province in July 2004. The provincial capital of Riau Province and its largest city is Pekanbaru. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south.

West Kalimantan Province in Indonesia

West Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city is Pontianak. The province has an area of 147,307 km² with a recorded 2010 census population of 4,395,983 . Ethnic groups include the Dayak, Malay, Chinese, Javanese, Bugis, and Madurese. The latest official estimate is 4,546,439. The borders of West Kalimantan roughly trace the mountain ranges surrounding the watershed of the Kapuas River, which drains most of the province. The province shares land borders with Central Kalimantan to the southeast, East Kalimantan to the east, and the Malaysian territory of Sarawak to the north.

North Sulawesi Province in Indonesia

North Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, on the Minahasa Peninsula, lies south of Philippines and southeast of Malaysia. It borders Philippines to the north, the Maluku Sea to the east, Gorontalo to the west and the Gulf of Tomini to the south. The province's capital and largest city is Manado, and its population was 4,135,526 according to the 2010 census; the latest official estimate is 4,353,540. Manado is also the main gateway and the economic center of the province. Other major towns includes Tomohon and Bitung. There are 41 mountains with an altitude ranging from 1,112–1,995 metres (3,648–6,545 ft). Most geologic conditions are the young volcanic region, a large number of eruptions and the active cone shape of the active volcanoes that adorn the central Minahasa, Bolaang Mongondow and Sangihe Islands.

The campaign

Protests and casualties

The election campaign lasted from 10 May to 3 June. [5] On 9 May, Interior Minister and Election Board chairman Rudini stated that all election participants (i.e. the two parties and Golkar) had the same standing, rights and obligations during the campaign. [6]

On 19 May, following widespread violations of traffic laws by election participants, Rudini said that the campaign to date had not been "ideal", and that a good campaign would take the form of political debates, including using the electronic media and the press. The following day, the governor of Yogyakarta banned the use of two-wheeled vehicles for campaigning. Two days later, PPP and PDI members removed their flags from the streets of Yogya and replaced them with white flags as a protest against the ban. The sultan of Yogyakarta and local Golkar chairman Hamengkubuwono, appealed to the PPP and the PDI to reconsider the removal of their flags as it would damage the national and international image of the city. On May 22, around 3,000 students bearing white flags and calling themselves the "white group" marched out of a local university campus. The demonstration ended after representatives were allowed to meet with the chairman of the local legislature. This became known as the "Yogya Incident". [7]

On 26 May, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Sudomo said that President Suharto was very concerned about the way the campaign was being conducted and the large number of deaths. [8] On 1 June, an interior ministry official announced that 23 people had died during the campaign, all as a result of traffic accidents. A further 194 had been injured. [9]

Golkar

Golkar's campaign began with a rally in Surabaya, East Java. On 23 May, party spokesman Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said that it was difficult to bring about change without risking the unity of the nation, and that the priority was to build a strong economic basis. [10] According to Golkar spokesman Sodomo, speaking on 29 May&, the organization's priorities for the next five years were to improve quality in all aspects by developing human resources, to fight against the excesses of deviations from development such as corruption and legal levies, to build openness and Pancasila democracy together with legal certainty and to persuade Suharto to stand for the presidency for the next five-year term. [11] Golkar's campaign ended where it had begun, in Surabaya,. [12]

The United Development Party

At the beginning of the PPP's campaign in Jakarta on 10 May, senior party official Djufrie Asmoredjo again stated that the PPP would nominate Suharto for the presidency, with General Try Sutrisno as his deputy. On the same day, PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum said that te party would work to improve the lot of the disadvantaged by building a pro-people economy and bringing about social justice. [13] On 29 May, he said the PPP must win a majority of the vote in Jakarta, and reminded supporters to vote for the party. [14] Ending the party's campaign in Semarang on 3 June, secretary general Amtori Abdul Djalil read a five-part political statement calling on people to use their vote and saying that Pancasila was the only basis for society. [15]

The Indonesian Democratic Party

On 10 May in Surabaya, PDI chairman Soerjadi said the election was a way of preventing authoritarian government, and limiting power. Two days later, he said that although the 1945 Constitution did not impose a limit on the number of presidential terms, the PDI would like to see a two-term limit [16] Several million people attended the PDI's final rally in Jakarta. Soerjadi called for the 1985 law on political parties to be amended to allow the political parties to organizese down to the village level and for an end to the practice of closing down publications. He also demanded tougher sentences for those convicted of corruption and an end to monopolies. [17]

Results

1992 Ballot SuratSuaraPemilu1992DPRRI.jpg
1992 Ballot

Polls opened at 08:00 local time and closed at 14:00. After counting of votes at the polling stations, results were sent to the central election agency. The results were officially announced on June 29. [18] Of the 107,565,697 registered voters, 90.91% cast valid votes. [19]

Ballot numberElection participantVotes%Seats
2 Functional Groups (Golongan Karya, Golkar)66,599,33168.10282
1 United Development Party (Partai Persatuan Pembangunan, PPP)16,624,64717.0162
3 Indonesian Democratic Party (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia, PDI)14,565,55614.8956
Total97,789,534100%400
Source: Komisi Pemilihan Umum (General Election Commission)

Aftermath

In October 1992, Golkar and the two parties began discussions over the agenda for the People's Consultative Assembly the following March at which the president and vice-president would be elected. Demanding changes to the electoral system as well as an end to corruption and abused of power, the PDI refused to nominate its presidential candidate. This was despite the fact the other factions, Golkar, the PPP and the Armed Forces faction had already nominated Suharto. At the conference, which opened on January 12, 1993 Soerjadi came under pressure from demonstrating party members to nominate a candidate other than Suharto, and from the government and military officers to nominate Suharto. Eventually, on January 14, Soerjadi announced the party had unanimously decided on Suharto. The party also dropped all its demands except for electoral reform. However, these were ignored at the People's Consultative Assembly general session, which opened on from March 1. Despite three PDI delegates marching to the speaker's podium demanding discussion of their demands, under Golkar and military pressure, they withdrew their demands. Suharto and Try Sutrisno were elected president and vice-president for the 1993-1998 term. [20]

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References

  1. Ricklefs (1991) p276
  2. Silalahi (1995) p19-20
  3. Silalahi (1995) p24-25
  4. Silalahi (1995) p23-24
  5. Subidjo (1995)
  6. Subidjo (1995) p173
  7. Subidjo (1995) p176-177
  8. Subidjo (1995) p182
  9. Subidjo (1995) p184
  10. Subidjo (1995) p196
  11. Subidjo (1995) p198-199
  12. Subidjo (1995) p205
  13. Subidjo (1995) p209
  14. Subidjo (1995) p213
  15. Subidjo (1995) p215
  16. Subidjo (1995) p217
  17. Subidjo (1995) p222
  18. Subidjo (1995) p120-121
  19. Subidjo (1995) p158
  20. Schwartz (1994) p265-267

Bibliography