With only a few months to go before the country goes to the polls, political parties are now engaged in talks with one another, strengthening ties in the hope of securing the best possible outcome from the national ballot box.
Gun Gun Heryanto, a political analyst at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, said on Tuesday that all parties were currently considering their options.
“Political elites are looking to find common ground in the hope of finding agreements in the future,” he said.
He added that political parties were also testing out the strengths of possible coalitions through the public opinion as well as through face-to-face meetings with counterparts from other parties.
He cited a recent meeting between Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri and National Democrat Party (NasDem) founder and chairman Surya Paloh at the PDI-P headquarters in Jakarta last week.
“Surya Paloh and NasDem are, of course, trying to map out their strengths while at the same time maintaining any opportunity to work together,” Gun Gun said.
He added that Megawati and Surya’s relationship remained relatively safe.
However, Gun Gun emphasized that it might be premature to assume that their recent meeting signified an imminent coalition between the two parties.
“The political process is still long, and there are many things that could trigger change,” he said.
“The two parties will still continue to contain the situation and look for the best possible partners.”
Gun Gun also commended the effort taken by the two leaders to meet, saying it was an important step for NasDem, a party not expected by many to fare well in the legislative election next April.
“NasDem needs to continue initiating lobbying efforts and persuasion and building agreements with potential entities with the potential to become a strong drive in the upcoming elections, including the PDI-P,” he said.
Karyono Wibowo, a researcher with the Indonesian Public Institute, said the meeting between Megawati and Surya should be seen as a form of political consolidation, seeing as several points on next year’s election were also discussed during the meeting.
“Megawati and Surya Paloh’s meeting was a meeting between two political party chairpersons with common concerns on the issue of the final voter roll, the National Encryption Agency [Lemsaneg] and the General Elections Commission’s [KPU] partnership as well as various issues surrounding the Constitutional Court,” Karyono said.
During the meeting last Thursday, the two parties said they had agreed that it was necessary for the 2014 elections to be carried out in a safer, more democratic and peaceful manner.
“The PDI-P and NasDem have agreed to push the government and the KPU to ensure that the final voter roll guarantees every Indonesian of their right to vote,” said NasDem secretary general Patrice Rio Capella.
He said the PDI-P and NasDem had also urged that the Constitutional Court immediately make all efforts to restore public trust in the institution, which is responsible for hearing electoral disputes, following the arrest in October of its chief justice in a bribery sting.
To Karyono, the meeting was a step forward for the two parties in their effort to ensure the elections were carried out in an honest, just and independent manner.
“Such a meeting should have been conducted by every political party who is interested in ensuring a clean election, sterilized from any form of fraud,” he said.
PDI-P secretary general Tjahjo Kumolo also said last week that the two parties’ relationship had grown closer ahead of next year’s legislative election, although he declined to say whether the party was planning on forming a coalition in 2014.
All parties are expected to form coalitions ahead of July’s presidential election, because none are expected to win the 25 percent of votes or 20 percent of legislative seats required to be eligible to name their own presidential candidate.
Author/Autor: Carlos Paath
Source/Fuente:http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/as-polls-draw-closer-the-party-tango...
