KASARINLAN
Vol. 19 No. 2 (2004), "Electoral Politics I"
Table of Contents
Notes from the Editor
ARTICLES:
Priyambudi Sulistiyanto, "The 2004 General Elections and
the Virtues of Indonesian Presidentialism"
ABSTRACT. The 2004 general elections in Indonesia highlighted the
importance of what Linz refers to as “dual democratic legitimacy” (a
political situation in which both the president and the parliament are
elected directly by the people) and its relevance in examining the
virtues of Indonesian presidentialism. It is argued here that
Indonesian presidentialism has been redefined to the extent that the
political and constitutional boundaries between the president and the
parliament are clearly demarcated and guarded through various means.
One cannot replace the other, both sides have to critically work with
each other. Each of them is responsible to their own constituents.
Indonesian presidentialism is still developing and will continue to be
tested in years to come. In the 2004 general elections, relying only on
party machinery to win the elections was no longer sufficient because
voters now increasingly assess the candidates on the visions, ideas and
programs presented in their election campaigns. However, with general
elections becoming regular and institutionalized the use of money or
financial rewards to gain votes in elections will be an issue that
political parties, party leaders and voters will have to address. These
are some of the trends developing in Indonesian politics which are
likely to shape Indonesian presidentialism in the years ahead.
Marzuki Mohamad, "Malaysia's 2004 General Elections:
Spectacular Victory, Continuing Tensions"
ABSTRACT. The new Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,
after approximately five months in office, led the ruling
coalition—Barisan Nasional (National Front [BN]) into the country’s
eleventh general elections in March 2004. The BN won spectacularly. The
electoral success has been attributed as much to Abdullah’s reform
initiatives, which included war against graft in public and private
sectors, efforts to improve public delivery system and continued
commitment to growth-oriented economic policies, as to his own “clean”
image. Further, his pronouncement of Islam Hadhari (Civilizational
Islam), a progressive Islam suited to the modern times, counterbalanced
the espousal of a theocratic Islamic state agenda by the opposition,
Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party [PAS]). This struck
a chord with the majority Malay/Muslim voters and led to the impressive
electoral performance of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO)
in Malay-majority constituencies, which seemed to spell an end to the
“Malay cultural revolt” against the dominant Malay party caused by the
sacking, arrest and imprisonment of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar
Ibrahim. The spectacular victory, however, belied continuing tensions
in Malaysian politics where the fault lines are being drawn less along
narrow ethnic struggle, than between contending discourses of
democracy, religious identity and economic development. The election
results seem to reinforce politics beyond ethnicity which has been
unfolding since the 1990s.
Narad Bharadwaj, Shiva K. Dhungana, and Bishnu Raj Upreti,
"Electoral Bottlenecks and Problems of Governance in Nepal"
ABSTRACT. This paper assesses the electoral system and problems of
governance in Nepal focusing on various phases of political
developments since the 1950s. It analyzes the setbacks encountered in
the democratization of the country. The article explains the function
of Nepal’s electoral system at various junctures of its recent history
and traces the struggle of the people for democratic governance against
an entrenched feudal culture of authoritarianism. It analyzes the role
of the king, the political parties, and the geopolitics in the region
in obstructing democratization, good governance and accountability.
Finally, it shows how electoral deviations and lack of good governance
have combined to engender Maoist insurgency. The paper argues that only
a peaceful solution of the present day conflict brought about by Maoist
insurgency will strengthen the democracy in Nepal.
Lawrence Surendra, "Indian Elections 2004: A Retrospective
Analysis and Overview"
ABSTRACT. Elections at best reflect three dimensions of formal
democracy—representation in terms of representing the political will of
the people; integration in terms of social classes and groups largely
done through political parties, which represents the stabilising aspect
of democracy; and decisions generated from stable majorities through
coalitions or a single party to ensure “majorities” within parliaments
and their governability. In many societies democracy can be and has
been subverted in all three dimensions. Electoral results and their
reflections on democracy, at best, can be tendential statements of what
the results reveal.
Roberto Verzola, "The True Results of the 2004 Philippine
Presidential Election Based on the NAMFREL Tally
ABSTRACT. The National Citizens Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL)
tally of the 2004 Philippine presidential election shows clear signs of
manipulation through selective tabulation in favor of Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo, making her lead over Fernando Poe Jr. appear to be larger.
However, much of the skew in the NAMFREL data can be removed by making
certain corrective assumptions to estimate how the uncounted votes
went. This paper asserts that during the 2004 Philippine presidential
election, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo did not win by around 1.1 million
votes over Fernando Poe Jr. It was a very close contest, with the most
probable results ranging from a GMA win of around 156,000 votes or
less, to an FPJ win of around 84,000 votes or less.
PROCEEDINGS:
- Policy Dialogue Series 2004: Academe Meets the Party-List Representatives
- Twenty-five Years after the Nicaraguan Revlution
PERSPECTIVES:
What is your assessment of the recent
elections in your own country?
REVIEWS:
- Campaigning for democracy: Grassroots citizenship movements, less-than-democratic elections, and regime transition in the Philippines
- Citizen's media monitor: A report on the campaign and election coverage in the Philippines 2004
- Cockfights, horserace and boxing match (why elections are covered as sport)
- News for sale: The corruption and commercialization of the Philippine media
- Papogi: The imaging of Philippine presidents
- The rulemakers: How the wealthy and well-born dominate the Congress
- Spin & sell: How political ads shaped the 2004 elections
- Subverting the people's will: The May 10, 2004 elections