Abstract

The results of the 5 April 2004 Indonesian general election for the House of People's Representatives have been indecisive. Golkar won the election with a total of 128 seats, but gained a lower number of seats than in 1999. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) came in second with 109 seats. Thus Golkar merely maintained its position with the other big parties, including the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB). The 2004 election also witnessed the rise of new parties, namely, the Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat) which finished in fourth place and the reconstituted Prosperous Justice Party (PKS). In the absence of any dominant party, the Indonesian political scene will be more splintered, with the likelihood of power-sharing arrangements and coalition politics. This article argues that instead of chronic instability, power-sharing formulas will be a defining characteristic of the consociational character of Indonesia's democratic system.

pdf

Share