Consolidation
and Change:
The Indonesian Parliament after the 2004 Elections
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Following the legislative elections in Indonesia on 4 April 2004, CDI commissioned Dr Stephen Sherlock to write a paper examining the composition of the new Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), in particular the trends in political party strengths, including the strengths of Islamic political parties, regional representation and the representation of women. Unelected representatives from the Indonesian Armed Forces and Police will no longer occupy seats in the DPR. This, combined with an increase in the size of DPR's membership from 500 to 550 has contributed to a large number of members entering parliament for the first time. Significantly, the election results have created a more politically diffuse and fragmented parliament compared with the previous parliament and the two major parties combined, Golkar and PDIP, no longer holding the majority. This may further complicate the passage of legislation, especially if the President, to be elected for the first time, comes from one of the smaller parties. |
 Dr Stephen Sherlock |
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Stephen
Sherlock is a political analyst and development consultant, specializing
in Indonesia and South and Southeast Asia. He has ten years experience
as an analyst and policy adviser on Indonesia and East Timor in
the Australian Parliament. He was also a Governance Adviser to the
World Bank office in Jakarta. He is currently working as an independent
consultant on governance and political change in Indonesia.
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