Muhammadiyah Hails Simultaneous Elections

Jakarta (Antara) - Muhammadiyah has hailed the simultaneous implementation of legislative and presidential elections, saying this could prevent transactional politics, according to the group's general chairman Din Syamsuddin. "We think simultaneous elections will not only be good for efficiency but could also prevent political transactions by political parties," he noted at the parliament building here on Friday. The Constitutional Court has approved the examination of Law No. 42 of 2008 on the Election of the President, Vice-President and the legislative authority as filed by the Civil Society Coalition for Elections, led by Effendi Gazali. "General elections will be held simultaneously in 2019," stated the Constitutional Court (MK) Chief Justice Hamdan Zoelva here on Thursday. Effendi Gazali and his associate examined a number of related articles on the law, which regulates Presidential and legislative elections. The applicants believe that legislative and presidential elections conducted separately can lead to inefficiencies that will eventually harm the constitutional rights of the voters. Din Syamsuddin said that Muhammadiyah - one of the country's largest Islamic organizations - has already discussed the need to consolidate democracy in the country so far. He pointed out that the reform era could not go backwards considering the country's history of authoritarianism and a repressive regime, but it must be consolidated so that democracy does not become procedural mess or even a criminal one. He claimed that one of the things that needed to be revised in the political system, including the election system, was cost. He said high costs in politics have contributed to the creation of transactional politics in the country, and as a result, a review may be necessary so that direct elections aren't required at all levels. "The negative feature of democracy in Indonesia is 'cost,' which has so far encouraged transactional politics," he explained. Din noted that simultaneous elections of legislative members and the president/vice president would make it possible for many presidential candidates to emerge, and through this selection process, a high-quality candidate can be chosen. Regarding the multi-party system, he admitted that it was the democratic right of the people but pointed out that if it is continued, coordination will be difficult, and so, a natural process is needed to reduce the number of political parties in the country. (*)