An Overview of Indonesia's Electoral and Democratic Developments

Adam Schmidt, Indonesia Director for IFES
and
a delegation of U.S. November Election observers from
Indonesia's General Election (KPU) Commissioners

Commissioner, Prof. Dr. Abdul Aziz - Voter Registration, Finance and Budget, Logistics, Regional Coordinator Sumatra KPUDs

Commissioner, Ibu Sri Nuryanti MA - Voter Registration, Inter-institutional Coordination, Media Outreach, Regional Coordinator for Bali, NTB, NTT and Papua KPUDs

Commissioner, Ibu Andi Nurpati M.PD. - Political Party and Candidate Certification, Tabulation and Results Reporting, Regional Coordinator for Sulaweisi KPUDs

Ibu Farida Fauzia, Head of Human Resources and Staff Development.

Indonesia has made great strides in its democratic development over the past decade. The country continues to reflect remarkable levels of political diversity and a very healthy political discourse in advance of the 2009 legislative elections. Thirty-eight political parties have been certified by the KPU to participate in the 2009 general elections and 11,367 candidates will compete in multiple levels of legislative elections (national, provincial, kabupaten/kota) with presidential elections to follow later in the year. The KPU has considerable authority to regulate the political and electoral process and is using this authority to ensure that the 2009 elections produce credible and legitimate results. However, the planning and logistical challenges are immense as the KPU must oversee the one-day voting process for approximately 170 million registered voters at close to 600,000 polling stations across the vast archipelago.

For additional background information, visit NPR Morning Edition, October 27, 2008
"Examining Democracy In Southeast Asia"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96162044

and