Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Glossary
- Chapter 1 Introduction: Ethnicity, Regionalism, and Religion
- Chapter 2 Pancasila versus Political Islam, 1955–97
- Chapter 3 Exit Soeharto, Enter Habibie: Prelude to the 1999 Election
- Chapter 4 The Search for Legitimacy and Democracy
- Chapter 5 Old Rivalries, Blurred Identities
- Chapter 6 Democracy and Ethnic Chinese Politics
- Chapter 7 The MPR Elects a President
- Chapter 8 Challenges Facing Gus Dur
- Chapter 9 The Rise of Mega
- Chapter 10 Democracy, Indonesian Style?
- APPENDICES
- Index
Chapter 7 - The MPR Elects a President
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2015
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- About the Author
- Glossary
- Chapter 1 Introduction: Ethnicity, Regionalism, and Religion
- Chapter 2 Pancasila versus Political Islam, 1955–97
- Chapter 3 Exit Soeharto, Enter Habibie: Prelude to the 1999 Election
- Chapter 4 The Search for Legitimacy and Democracy
- Chapter 5 Old Rivalries, Blurred Identities
- Chapter 6 Democracy and Ethnic Chinese Politics
- Chapter 7 The MPR Elects a President
- Chapter 8 Challenges Facing Gus Dur
- Chapter 9 The Rise of Mega
- Chapter 10 Democracy, Indonesian Style?
- APPENDICES
- Index
Summary
In post-Soeharto Indonesia, the President is still the most important figure in the political system. This chapter focuses on the election of the new President following the 1999 general election. Old and new leaders were competing for the highest position in the land and the contest was keenly observed by the political public. The process was full of intrigues and the situation was tense as Megawati's supporters expected her to be elected as President — her party, the PDI-P, had after all received the largest number of votes in the general election. The eventual election of Abdurrahman Wahid as President was a surprise but it illustrated the increasing importance of Islam. Although Islam is not the dominant force in Indonesian politics today, it has grown in significance over the years.
The Battle and the War
Casual Indonesian observers often wrongly regard the general election as the only battle fought by political parties in order to form the government. It might be assumed that the party with the largest number of votes (in this case Partai Demokrasi Indonesia– Perjuangan or PDI-P, albeit only 33.7 per cent to the total votes) should form the government, and the party leader should be the President. This would have happened if Indonesia was not under the 1945 Constitution. Under the first amended 1945 Constitution, a party which won the parliamentary election would not necessarily win the MPR (Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat or People's Consultative Assembly) election. The President is elected by the MPR, not by the people directly. The leader of the party which obtained the largest votes in the MPR election, not the general election, would become the President.
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- Information
- Elections and Politics in Indonesia , pp. 139 - 160Publisher: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak InstitutePrint publication year: 2002