Chapter 7 - The MPR Elects a President

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.