Activist group says legislative candidates for next year’s ballot are overwhelmingly incumbents and celebrities
Next year’s legislative election is unlikely to yield any dramatic improvement in the quality of members of the House of Representatives, because political parties have selected candidates based on popularity rather than ability, an activist says.
An Indonesian Voters Institute (LPI) analysis of the list of candidates submitted by the 12 parties participating in next year’s legislative ballot has found most contenders are either already lawmakers, or are celebrities.
LPI director Boni Hargens said 91 percent of current House members are seeking another term.
“We don’t see a tight screening process on these incumbent legislative candidates, so those who are lazy … and those facing [legal] problems are renominated,” Boni said on Sunday.
“The LPI thinks that the character and the quality of the 2014-2019 House of Representatives will be not much different from today. There will be no significant changes.”
The House has been criticized for passing too few laws, with many of those enacted later revoked or changed by the Constitutional Court.
Last year, the House passed only 16 pieces of legislation — its target was 70, the same as this year’s goal.
The House has also been accused of wastage, with many legislators traveling overseas and earmarking large amounts of money for their own procurement and renovation projects.
Since its establishment in 2003, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has jailed nearly 50 former and current House members.
Boni said those political parties attempting to bring new members into the legislature were mostly turning to actors, actresses, musicians and celebrities with few political credentials.
Legislative candidates “must qualify to be leaders … but fundamentally they must have the capabilities like formulating laws, budgeting, lobbying and so on,” he said.
“It is alright for artists to become politicians, but if the celebrities don’t have the capability [to be lawmakers] how can they translate [people’s] aspirations into public policies?”
Wily Aditya, deputy secretary general of the National Democratic Party (NasDem), said as a newcomer, his party would introduce a new generation of politicians, who he said was committed to change.
“We put people who are capable first and then base them on acceptability and electability,” he said. “We accommodate many legislative candidates from universities and the party backs them up … with campaign teams.”
Boni said the ruling Democratic Party’s list of candidates was “the most problematic” of all parties participating in next year’s election, with 15 percent of its candidates “mentioned in corruption cases both locally and nationally.”
Teuku Rifky Harsya, chairman of the Democratic Party’s central leadership board, said many current lawmakers and senior politicians wanted to continue in the legislature.
This includes those implicated in legal cases, but Teuku said that none of the candidates have been convicted in court.
More than 6,000 candidates are vying for the 550 seats in the House of Representatives.
There are currently nine parties represented in the House, with six part of the governing coalition.
Much of the work in the House takes place in powerful committees, which scrutinize particular areas of public policy and have the power to question government ministers and civil servants.
by: Carlos Paath
