Problems Mount For Indonesian Elections

Friday, March 1, 2013

CNAPSA)—As Indonesia pre- pares for the most important. elections in the country’s history, tech- nical problems and political corruption threaten the credibility of the fast approaching polls. The 2014 legislative and presidential elections will be just the fourth national poll for the world’s fourth most populous country in the 15 years since the fall of the dictato- rial Suharto regime. Accommodat- ing for nearly 200 million voters spread over 17,000 islands in the Southeast Asian nation is a monumental task. However, the 2004 Voter enthusiasm runs high for troubled Indonesianelections. business, incorporating “modern management techniques: IT, trans- faced problems but managed to parency and e-government.” Many polls are responding to his no-nonsense approach to addressing the country’s biggest challenges and his national observers. For the 2014 result. tions of manipulation are mount- with the voters list have continued to raise concerns about the coun- elections were widely viewed as free and fair while the 2009 polls get a passing grade by most inter- cycle, the challenges and accusa- ing by the day to an unprece- dented level while the stakes to conduct free and fair elections could not be higher. Political corruption continues to plague the Indonesian government and erode public trust in political parties and the electoral authorities due largely to greed, abuse of power, and inadequate financing laws and oversight. In perhaps the most ominoussign ofpotential electoral manipulation,reports are sur- facing that the Indonesian Elec- popularityis continuing to rise as a Additionally, major problems try’s ability to conduct free and fair elections next year. Reports are surfacingof millions of inaccu- rate voter registration data or even fictitious voters that could result in more than 10 percent of the electorate being turned away at the polls or millions of fraudu- lent votes. In an election expected to be the most highly contested in the country’s democratic era, sev- eral political parties are understandably concerned and calling toral Commission (KPU)is banning for answers. The KPU claims to be except for those handpicked “friends”of the ruling party. Several presidential candidates have expressed serious concern over the the challenge continueto linger. With a booming population and a third of the electorate voting for international election observers challenge that rampant corruption representsto this young democracy, still working to build its foundation of representative government. Gerindra party founder and leading presidential candidate Prabowo workingto fix the glitches but con- cerns about the capacity to meet the first time, the stakes are high to get the younger population to invest in civic participation and trust in the democratic process. Thelist of challenges to meeting the threshold of a free and fair election in Indonesia is long and the road to get there is, unfortumanage the governmentlike a nately, getting shorter by the day. Subianto has stated he will stamp out governmentcorruption and

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