Politics of Indonesia

The reform era

A constitutional reform process lasted from 1999 to 2002, with four constitutional amendments producing important changes.

Among these are term limits of up to 2 five-year terms for the President and Vice-President, and measures to institute checks and balances. The highest state institution is the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), whose functions previously included electing the president and vice-president (since 2004 the president has been elected directly by the people), establishing broad guidelines of state policy, and amending the constitution. The 695-member MPR includes all 550 members of the People's Representative Council (DPR) (the House of Representatives) plus 130 "regional representatives" elected by the twenty-six provincial parliaments and sixty-five appointed members from societal groups

The DPR, which is the premier legislative institution, originally included 462 members elected through a mixed proportional/district representational system and thirty-eight appointed members of the armed forces (TNI) and police (POLRI). TNI/POLRI representation in the DPR and MPR ended in 2004. Societal group representation in the MPR was eliminated in 2004 through further constitutional change.

Having served as rubberstamp bodies in the past, the DPR and MPR have gained considerable power and are increasingly assertive in oversight of the executive branch. Under constitutional changes in 2004, the MPR became a bicameral legislature, with the creation of the Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD), in which each province is represented by four members, although its legislative powers are more limited than those of the DPR. Through his appointed cabinet, the president retains the authority to conduct the administration of the government.

A general election in June 1999 produced the first freely elected national, provincial and regional parliaments in over forty years. In October 1999 the MPR elected a compromise candidate, Abdurrahman Wahid, as Indonesia's fourth president, and Megawati Sukarnoputri — a daughter of Sukarno, the country's first president — as the vice-president. Megawati's PDI-P party had won the largest share of the vote (34%) in the general election, while Golkar, the dominant party during the Soeharto era, came in second (22%). Several other, mostly Islamic parties won shares large enough to be seated in the DPR. Further democratic elections took place in 2004 and 2009.

Executive branch

The president and vice-president are selected by vote of the citizens for five-year terms. Prior to 2004, they were chosen by People's Consultative Assembly. The last election was held 9 July 2014. The president heads the Kabinet Kerja which means the cabinet of work. The President of Indonesia is directly elected for a maximum of two five-year terms, and is the head of state, commander-in-chief of Indonesian armed forces and responsible for domestic governance and policy-making and foreign affairs. The president appoints a cabinet, who do not have to be elected members of the legislature.

Legislative branch

The People's Consultative Assembly (Indonesian: Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat, MPR) is the legislative branch in Indonesia's political system. Following elections in 2004, the MPR became a bicameral parliament, with the creation of the DPD as its second chamber in an effort to increase regional representation.

The Regional Representatives Council (Indonesian: Dewan Perwakilan Daerah, DPD) is the upper house of The People's Consultative Assembly. The lower house is The People's Representative Council (Indonesian: Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, DPR), sometimes referred to as the House of Representatives, which has 560 members, elected for a five-year term by proportional representation in multi-member constituencies.

Political parties and elections

The General Elections Commission (Indonesian: Komisi Pemilihan Umum, KPU ) is the body responsible for running both parliamentary and presidential elections in Indonesia. Article 22E(5) of the Constitution rules that the Commission is national, permanent, and independent. Prior to the General Election of 2004, KPU was made up of members who were also members of political parties. However, members of KPU must now be non-partisan.

Judicial branch

The Indonesian Supreme Court (Indonesian: Mahkamah Agung) is the highest level of the judicial branch. Its judges are appointed by the president. The Constitutional Court rules on constitutional and political matters (Indonesian: Mahkamah Konstitusi), while a Judicial Commission (Indonesian: Komisi Yudisial) oversees the judges.

Foreign relations

During the regime of president Suharto, Indonesia built strong relations with the United States and had difficult relations with the People's Republic of China owing to Indonesia's anti-communist policies and domestic tensions with the Chinese community. It received international denunciation for its annexation of East Timor in 1978. Indonesia is a founding member of the Association of South East Asian Nations, and thereby a member of both ASEAN+3 and the East Asia Summit.

Since the 1980s, Indonesia has worked to develop close political and economic ties between South East Asian nations, and is also influential in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Indonesia was heavily criticised between 1975 and 1999 for allegedly suppressing human rights in East Timor, and for supporting violence against the East Timorese following the latter's secession and independence in 1999. Since 2001, the government of Indonesia has co-operated with the US in cracking down on Islamic fundamentalism and terrorist groups.