Indonesians disillusioned with corrupt democracy (the national election is today)

[Turborama]

Run time: 02:48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbnFI_xsyMA   Posted on YouTube: April 08, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: April 09, 2009 By DU Member: Turborama Views on DU: 364

 
In the world's 3rd largest democracy, votes are being bought. My (Indonesian) wife told me the other day that there's been what could described as vote auctions going on and the story about the president's son being investigated for vote selling is just the tip of a gigantic iceberg.

Vote buying is also discussed here, 6 minutes 25 seconds in:

Al Jazeera English: 101 East - Testing democracy in Indonesia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSe-m7rQ3F0&NR=1


Indonesian president's son in vote-buying row

AFP

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's corruption-fighting credentials were on the line Wednesday after his son was embroiled in vote-buying allegations on the eve of elections.

Vote-buying, or "money politics" as it is euphemistically known here, is rampant in the world's third-largest democracy as it heads to the polls for general elections Thursday.

Yudhoyono, who is hoping to be re-elected to a second five-year term in presidential polls in July, has campaigned as a tough anti-corruption crusader in a country that ranks among the most venal in the world.

But anti-graft activists have questioned the Democratic Party chief's sincerity after police announced they were probing whistle-blowers who had accused his candidate son, Edhie Baskoro, 27, of buying votes.

Continues: http://news.id.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3083864

Indonesians gear up for key polls

Story Highlights

- 12,000 people, 38 parties vying for one of 700 parliamentary
- Parties need 25 percent of the vote to name a presidential candidate for July poll
- Third direct election since the authoritarian regime of Suharto fell in 1998
- Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation


JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A candidate for Indonesia's upcoming legislative election smiles broadly, flanked by a photo illustration of U.S. President Barack Obama and Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden -- his hands clasped over theirs. Damin Sada says he is depicting himself as a broker of peace between the two sides and the billboard is part of his campaign to educate voters on the significant role that Indonesia can play in the global war on terror.

Sada, from the Islamic-based United Development Party, is among 12,000 candidates and 38 parties vying for one of 700 parliamentary seats up for grabs in Thursday's election.

It will be Indonesia's third direct election since the authoritarian regime of Suharto fell in 1998, in the wake of the Asian financial crisis. The outcome is not just significant in determining the country's future -- the election will decide which parties can field presidential candidates for the July election -- it could also have a global impact.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, and for now is a largely moderate and democratic one. But some analysts say there are signs that it is on the path to becoming a conservative and fundamentalist nation, moving away from democracy and toward sharia law, or Islamic law. One sign they cite is the government's recent support for an anti-pornography bill that had had been pushed by more fundamentalist Islamic groups, including the highly influential Ulama Council.

Andi Mallarangeng, a spokesman for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said his party's support for the anti-pornography measure -- which passed in October -- was a symbolic gesture to the Islamic groups that had called for it. However, Islamist parties are not expected to fare well this time around, partly because most voters are more concerned about economic issues, rather than religious or moral ones.

Continues: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/04/07/indonesia.elections/index.html