Since his victory was
announced by the General Election Commission (KPU) on July 22, President-elect
Joko Widodo has perhaps had the most dramatic hiatus of power in Indonesian
history. He has faced a challenge at the Constitutional Court and suffered a
series of political setbacks at the hand of the mostly hostile outgoing
legislature. The new president may well have wished for a less turbulent, and
definitely shorter, period of transition into power.
While an extended
interregnum may have been intended to take into account the possibility of
election disputes ─ which undeniably took place this year ─ it has proved to be
a debilitating start for the new administration, both politically and
psychologically.
Between the
presidential ballot in early July and the inauguration of the new president
late in October, the Indonesian presidential transition is more than four
months in length. Compared with the less-than-three-month period of
presidential transition in the United States, it seems overextended.
As recent events indicate,
it may have left too much room for political maneuvers by the outgoing
administration or political adversaries of the new administration.
In political jargon,
the outgoing government is usually known as the “lame duck” administration,
headed by a “lame duck” president, whose political grip is seen to be on the
wane. So, by decent democratic convention, this is the role that the outgoing
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should have played.
Instead, actions
inspired by a level of political opportunism that offends both common sense and
democratic ethics have cast the incoming president as the lame duck.
Not yet sworn in,
Jokowi has so far been forced to concede three vital legislative setbacks that
may compromise his presidency.
First, the recently-passed
Law on Legislative Bodies, or MD3 Law, which resulted in the opposition
obtaining the speakership of the House of Representatives and its four
accompanying deputy chairs. The new leadership in parliament will no doubt
prove less than cordial to the new president in the months to come.
Second, the recently
approved 2015 State Budget (APBN) may also prove to be another road block for
President Joko Widodo as it barely supports the programs outlined in his
election manifesto. With public spending capped at 3 percent of GDP, enormous
infrastructure projects such as the integrated maritime network promised by
Joko may be beyond the budgetary limits.
Third, as if in
defiance of the new president, the House passed a bill to effect a moratorium
on direct election of regional chiefs. What made it more shocking, the act was
made possible by the walkout of most of the MPs from outgoing President
Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party.
Amid public protests,
Yudhoyono has promised to counter the new law with an executive order to
reinstate direct regional elections. However, the move may prove temporary as
the order will be subject to legislative review by the new parliament, in which
Joko has so far failed to secure a majority.
There can be no
denying the current Indonesian presidential transition has become a
full-fledged fiasco. In fact, it may be difficult to find an analogy for it in
recent world history. It looks even more ridiculous juxtaposed with the smooth
interregnum of US President Barack Obama, largely possible through the
cooperativeness of his predecessor George W. Bush. The latter even granted
Obama’s request for the release of $350 billion of bank bailout funds to be
pushed through Congress before his inauguration date.
Admittedly, the United
States has the Presidential Transition Act of 1963 to fall back on. This act
lays down the guidelines for a seamless handover of power between the outgoing
and incoming administrations. Most importantly, the act officially affirms the
abandonment of the old transitional period from November till March, which went
out of use during the second term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Nevertheless, the act
only stipulates the technical and financial support that the outgoing
administration is obliged to provide its successor. It does not specify the
political constraints within which the “lame duck” administration may act. Even
the seemingly smooth transition between Bush and Obama was slightly tainted
with allegations of “midnight regulations” being enacted by government agencies
before the inauguration of the new president.
But it is important to
note that these “midnight regulations” have never been crucial enough to affect
the integrity and capability of the new administration. They are in no way
comparable to the recent political setbacks suffered by Joko at the hands of
both Yudhoyono’s party and the House.
So it appears the
convention against making irresponsible maneuvers by an outgoing government
should be entrenched and seen as proper political conduct in a system based on
democratic principles. The fact that Indonesia has failed to live up to this
ideal calls into question whether we deserve the democratic epithet that the
world has accorded us.
There are definitely
valuable lessons to be learned from the current debacle. As the Constitutional
Court ruled earlier this year that both the next legislative and presidential
elections in 2019 must be conducted at the same time ─ as opposed two separate
elections ─ new legislation will no doubt be drafted to accommodate the
changes. Let us hope the new law will ensure that nothing like the current
discordant presidential transition will ever occur again.
Johannes Nugroho is a
writer from Surabaya
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