By Aria Danaparamita
With the scrapping of direct elections for local leaders, Indonesia’s hard-won democracy is under threat.
Earlier this month, Indonesia was what The New York Times lauded as Southeast Asia’s “role model for democracy.” By Friday night, one couldn’t be so sure.
After a fiercely lengthy debate, the Indonesian House of Representatives voted Friday 226 to 135 in favor of eliminating direct popular elections for local and regional leaders, placing the task instead in the hands of each region’s legislative councils. RIP Indonesian democracy, many Indonesians posted and tweeted online.
Indonesia is the third-largest democracy in the world, behind India and the U.S. Or at least it was. Calling the new law, dubbed “UU Pilkada,” a step back for Indonesia may be an understatement, for Indonesia’s path to democracy had not been a mere step – it was an arduous path marked by violence and bloody repression.
The country survived decades under the rule of dictator Soeharto before achieving democracy through the protests of 1998. Today, democracy in Indonesia may seem a given. But it certainly did not come without a price.
Read the full story at The Diplomat