Legislative elections were held in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
on 29 May 1997. There were three simultaneous elections in one because voters were electing members of two levels of regional government (provincial and regency levels) as well as the national-level
People's Representative Council
The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), ...
. This was to be the last election of President
Suharto's New Order regime, which collapsed a year later. Like the preceding New Order elections, it was won outright by the
Golkar
)
, foundation =
, youth = AMPG (Golkar Party Young Force)
, women = KPPG (Golkar Party Women's Corps)
, newspaper = '' Suara Karya'' (1971–2016)
, headquarters = Jakarta
, ideology ...
organization.
Background
The political and social environment during the 1997 legislative elections was substantially different than in
previous elections. There was a widespread belief among the public that this election would be Suharto's last term as president. However, there was no clear successor to him or his New Order regime.
This led to many officials in the government demonstrating their loyalty to Suharto and to gain his favor by delivering a victory for
Golkar
)
, foundation =
, youth = AMPG (Golkar Party Young Force)
, women = KPPG (Golkar Party Women's Corps)
, newspaper = '' Suara Karya'' (1971–2016)
, headquarters = Jakarta
, ideology ...
. This led to what Professor of Politics and Government Cornelis Lay called "a shattering process of structural cheating."
Another factor in the election was the greater global focus on
human rights in Indonesia
Human rights in Indonesia are defined by the 1945 Constitution (UUD 1945) and the laws under it; several rights are guaranteed especially as a result of the constitutional amendments following the Reform era. The Ministry of Law and Human Ri ...
. In 1993, pressure against the Suharto government resulted in formation of the National Human Rights Commission. The commission (which had an unusual degree of independence from the Suharto government) offered a channel for humans rights groups and organizations to focus international attention to human rights abuses in the country.
Participants
Indonesian law at the time only allowed three organisations to participate in elections - the
United Development Party
The United Development Party ( id, Partai Persatuan Pembangunan, sometimes translated as Development Unity Party; abbreviated PPP) is an Islam-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho. (2013). ''Partai politik Islam: Teori dan praktik di Indonesia''. Yogyakarta: Grah ...
(PPP), the
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.
Origins
Ten political parties participated in the 1971 legislative elections, a number that Pres ...
(PDI) and
Golkar
)
, foundation =
, youth = AMPG (Golkar Party Young Force)
, women = KPPG (Golkar Party Women's Corps)
, newspaper = '' Suara Karya'' (1971–2016)
, headquarters = Jakarta
, ideology ...
(functional group), an organisation which started off as a confederation of NGOs, and was officially not a party.
Election campaign
The 27-day campaign ran from April 27 to May 23, with a quiet period of five days before polling day.
Media coverage
The mass media tended to favour "a particular election participant", for example ''
Suara Karya'' newspaper only reported on
Golkar
)
, foundation =
, youth = AMPG (Golkar Party Young Force)
, women = KPPG (Golkar Party Women's Corps)
, newspaper = '' Suara Karya'' (1971–2016)
, headquarters = Jakarta
, ideology ...
campaign activities, and did not mention the PDI or PPP campaigns at all. On the other hand, the daily ''
Media Indonesia
''Media Indonesia'' is an Indonesian daily newspaper published in Jakarta. Reports say ''Media Indonesia'' is the second largest newspaper in Indonesia after the ''Kompas
''Kompas'' () is an Indonesian national newspaper from Jakarta wh ...
'' was rather more balanced, but overall, Golkar campaign speakers received far more coverage.
In the later stages of the campaign, media coverage was dominated by reports of campaign violence. ''Suara Karya'' in particular reported three times as many violent incidents involving the PPP than any other paper.
Campaign issues
Not a single election participant started the campaign by announcing or focusing on its main themes, therefore the public really had no idea what they were offering. The campaign was dominated by "sloganistic issues" with very little substance. For example, all three election participants promised to address problems such as poverty and corruption, but none actually said how they would do this. In fact, Kristiadi says that the only difference between this campaign and the previous one in 1992 was that there was less use of verses from the
Koran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
to try and attract support.
The "Mega-Bintang Phenomenon"
Following the government's forced replacement of PDI leader
Megawati Sukarnoputri by Soeryadi at the party's 1996
Medan
Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...
conference, the PDI tried hard to put forward an independent image. Meanwhile, many of Megawati's supporters gravitated towards the PPP, in a phenomenon known as the "Mega-Bintang" coalition. Bintang means "star", and was the symbol of the PPP. This was an entirely unexpected occurrence. Megawati was seen as representing secular politics, while the PPP was an Islamic party, but the two found common ground as a coalition of the oppressed.
PPP officials explicitly rejected the term "coalition", and said the increase in their support was a symbol of the revival of their party. However, posters and symbols carried by Megawati supporters made it clear what the "Mega-Bintang" coalition really meant. The government then banned the use of "Mega-Bintang" posters and symbols, saying it was contrary to election regulation. This ban was used by the security forces as an excuse to remove all such symbols.
Campaign participants
![Golkar campaigners 1997](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Golkar_campaigners_1997.jpg)
According to Kristiadi, there were three types of people who took part in the campaigns:
* People ordered to do so or who were after money, or who wanted to see the entertainers laid on at rallies
* People who voluntarily attended because they were proud to support their organisation
* Young people releasing energy
More than 200 people died during the course of the campaign, mostly in road traffic accidents and through being trapped in burning buildings during the
disturbances in
Banjarmasin
)
, translit_lang1 = Other
, translit_lang1_type1 = Jawi
, translit_lang1_info1 = بنجر ماسين
, settlement_type = City
, motto = ''Kayuh Baimbai'' ( Banjare ...
.
Intimidation and other irregularities
There were reports in the press of intimidation and “buying support”, for example pressure on teachers to urge older high school students (the minimum voting age was 18) to vote for "a particular election participant" with a 'reward' for compliance and 'punishment' for failure. There were also other reports of known PPP and PDI supporters being intimidated.
There were also disputes between employees, who wanted voters to cast their ballots at their places of work, and local government officials, who wanted them to vote near their homes, as each wanted to ensure they met their responsibility to achieve their quota of Golkar votes.
Results
While Golkar won 282 seats in the MPR, the PDI lost 45 (winning 56 seats) while the PPP, thanks in part to the pro-Megawati PDI wing support, won 62 seats, an increase of 27.
By province
1998 indirect presidential election
Following the legislative election, on 10 March 1998, an
indirect presidential election took place that saw president
Suharto
Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...
be re-elected unanimously to a seventh term by the
People's Consultative Assembly
The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, MPR-RI) is the legislative branch in Politics of Indonesia, Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the membe ...
along with new Vice-President
BJ Habibie
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian engineer and politician who was the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. Less than three months after his inauguration as the seventh vice preside ...
.
Despite the election, which took place during the height of the
1998 financial crisis, Suharto was
forced to resign that May, just two months into what was to have been a five-year term.
Notes
References
Sources
*
* Nohlen, Dieter, Grotz, Florian & Hartmann, Christof (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II''
*
{{Indonesian elections
Legislative elections in Indonesia
Indonessia
New Order (Indonesia)
Legislative
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...
People's Consultative Assembly