General elections without offering hope

General elections as a political rite of democracy are commonly regarded as a means to improve any constitutional change. But people now tend to have ignored any change carried out through the elections process ranging from confusing political system, anarchic multiparty system to technical matters like permanent voters list (DPT). As a consequence, there have been many irregularities found either indeliberately or deliberately.
 
At least people and even big political parties' leaders have come to a single voice in regard with the allegation. There have been many bringing a wide range of proofs over the irregularities. Such circumstances got worse and worse as any inaccurate data of DPT which is littered with any fraud has become a common scene on such a scale. All this has increasingly raised public distrust to the existing system including to the nation's political<> actors.

As if the fraud is unforgivable so that it is impossible to deal with it in days or hours like that happened recently. While the (elections) system is aimed at determining legislators and even can used as a means of promoting a national leader. When the system has widely been considered as illegitimate, the leader produced will also be illegitimate. At least his leadership legitimacy will be challenged so that such situation will produce people's representatives and leaders whose no dignity. As a result, their authority will in turn be weak and limited.

Whereas in the transitional situation which is full with competition and even dispute, the presence of a strong leader respected by all parties is in high demand. Without a strong leader, the national agenda will not able to be carried out. Instead, it will be carried out by those whose power to both stress and impose their ideas. All this is very possible when the state has no its guidance any more. As a result, various bargaining situations with parties whose power will occur so that the status of the national policies will not change. Rather it can easily be bargained and even misused.

In such condition, public prosperity, security and the unity of the state are no longer considered as important factors. Political parties and NGOs which are busy with their own technical matters have no longer paid their attention to various big political problems facing the nation and its people. Though NU is a social religious organization, its leaders are much more concerned about these problems that the national sovereignty must be upheld. On account of the sovereignty, the national prosperity can be materialized and people's sovereignty can be reached.

Political parties, government and NGOs having persistently struggled for prosperity and even people's freedom are very naive for ignoring external factors that have so far hampered social prosperity because of intervention, repression and manipulation from outside along with the available capital that is either lent or given. Not the same as it ever was in which the nation of ours had formerly been very selective towards any assistance and had always considered any possible term and condition. On the contrary, the recent government has easily received any foreign debt capital and assistance without taking into account of the terms and conditions that must be borne by the people and the state.

Elections have not yet offered political changes to realize the state sovereignty and instead of offering people's sovereignty. What is to say here is that indeed there will be no people's sovereignty without being preceded by the state sovereignty. If the state has still been controlled by politics and foreign corporations like that occurs in Indonesia, the struggle directed towards people sovereignty will be in vain; how the people can reach sovereignty if they have no government as protector and the state as the place to stand and get protection?

That is why when Indonesia had obtained education from the Dutch and been made such house of representatives (volksraad), the people had even been given limited sovereignty because they had not lived in a sovereign country. Instead, they had lived in a country still colonized by the Dutch so that what emerging in the meantime was artificial sovereignty and a mere gift. It is understandable if the nation has still struggled for independence, namely creating a sovereign state. Because of the sovereign state, the people living within it will also be capable of upholding their sovereignty and because of  the people sovereignty, the state will increasingly be strong for obtaining legitimacy and support from its people.

This year's elections have not yet met such expected goals because the NGOs have just been busy with technical matters and even ignored the existing system for being considered to have been eligible enough so that it is only in need of technical monitoring. All this is due to the fact that the NGOs have been concerned about micro and sectoral matters. They have had no  big thoughts which are extremely in need of the courage. Finally such mass organizations as Nahdlatul Ulama which have always paid their more attention to this problem. All this should ideally be the task of political parties. Unfortunately they have been trapped into technical matters and have put aside the problems facing the nation and the state. While at the same time they have also ignored the people's problems. Whereas the three are important factors in realizing a sovereign and dignified life. (Abdul Mun’im DZ)