politics and elections

Indonesian Legislative elections

2009-04-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

It is all over bar the screaming in the Indonesian Legislative elections with all of the the 560 seats of the People's Representative Council up for grabs plus the 132 seats of the Regional Representatives Council. It all sounds like an electoral commissioners nightmare to me.
The vote started West Papua in Indonesia on 9 April 2009. With a whooping 60 {yes sixty} political parties putting forward for registration only 34 were accepted as ‘real’ political parties.
Now Indonesia has a population of say almost 170 million voting ,who are serviced by 465 administrations (regencies and municipalities) with the total number of candidates being 11,200; so hands up who wants to scrutineer.
I don’t think that I will be waiting up tonight for any result on which group of political parties will form government in Indonesia.

The political parties in this election are;

Regional Unity Party (Partai Persatuan Daerah)
National Awakening Party (Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa)
Indonesian Youth Party (Partai Pemuda Indonesia)
Indonesian National Party Marhaenism (Partai Nasional Indonesia Marhaenisme)
Democratic Renewal Party (Partai Demokrasi Pembaruan, PDP)
Functional Party of Struggle (Partai Karya Perjuangan)
National Sun Party(Partai Matahari Bangsa)
Indonesian Democratic Vanguard Party (Partai Penegak Demokrasi Indonesia)
Democratic Nationhood Party (Partai Demokrasi Kebangsaan)
Archipelago Republic Party (Partai Republik Nusantara)
Vanguard Party (Partai Pelopor)
Golkar Party (Partai Golongan Karya)
United Development Party (Partai Persatuan Pembangunan)
Prosperous Peace Party (Partai Damai Sejahtera)
Indonesian National Populist Fortress Party (Partai Nasional Benteng Kerakyatan Indonesia)
Crescent Star Party (Partai Bulan Bintang)
Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia Perjuangan)
Reform Star Party (Partai Bintang Reformasi)
Patriot Party (Partai Patriot)
Democratic Party (Partai Demokrat)
Indonesian Democratic Party of Devotion (Partai Kasih Demokrasi Indonesia)
Prosperous Indonesia Party (Partai Indonesia Sejahtera)
Ulema National Awakening Party (Partai Kebangkitan Nasional Ulama)
Freedom Party (Partai Merdeka)
Indonesian Nahdlatul Community Party (Partai Persatuan Nahdlatul Ummah Indonesia)
Indonesian Unity Party (Partai Sarikat Indonesia)
Labor Party (Partai Buruh)
Prosperous and Safe Aceh Party (Partai Aceh Aman Sejahtera)
Aceh Sovereignty Party (Partai Daulat Atjeh)
Independent Voice of the Acehnese Party (Partai Suara Independen Rakyat Aceh, SIRA)
Aceh People's Party (Partai Rakyat Aceh)
Aceh Party (Partai Aceh)
Aceh Unity Party (Partai Bersatu Aceh)
People's Conscience Party (Partai Hati Nurani Rakyat, Partai Hanura)
Concern for the Nation Functional Party (Partai Karya Peduli Bangsa)
Indonesian Workers and Employers Party (Partai Pengusaha dan Pekerja Indonesia)
National People's Concern Party (Partai Peduli Rakyat Nasional)
Great Indonesia Movement Party (Partai Gerakan Indonesia Raya, Gerindra)
National Front Party (Partai Barisan Nasional, Barnas)
Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (Partai Keadilan dan Persatuan Indonesia)
Prosperous Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Sejahtera)
National Mandate Party (Partai Amanat Nasional)
New Indonesia Party of Struggle (Partai Perjuangan Indonesia Baru)
Sovereignty Party (Partai Kedaulatan)

Are you interested in politics and do you vote?

2009-04-09T17:37:00.000-07:00

Are you interested in politics and do you vote?

Well if you answered either yes or no to either of these questions, then you really should start paying attention. It seems more and more that political parties and the various political systems around the globe control what is REALLY going on in world politics and your own backyard.

So you may say, who cares about American politics if you live in Australia, or you may say I don’t give a hoot about Australian politics if you live in America but there is no denying that there is a political issue that is hitting you hard in the hip pocket right about now; Globalisation and the Global Financial Crises. This is all the more reason that We The People start looking at our governments and their political parties and ask what sort of a society we want for ourselves, our children and our neighbours.

If you are just someone who simply wants to get on with it and leave it to the experts, the politicians, political parties, governments and the media and are not interested in voting, that is up to you. But as many say, if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.

For thousands of years political ideology has determined how our culture has been formed. For Thousands of Years wars have been fought and people died in protests over power politics and the religion of politics and even the right for every man and woman to have an equal say in how we live our lives. In our life time the right to vote has united black and white and seen the abolition of apartheid, the crime of racial segregation in countries all over the world. In the last 100 years women in most political systems now have the right to vote and have a say in how they and their children can now live.

Decolonisation has seen entire people and nations become independent Nation States and from The Statute of Westminster in 1931 to the United Nations Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples in1960, the culture of international politics has focussed very strongly on one thing; ELECTIONS.

Article 21 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 states:“Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his/her country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.”

While this has not been internationally realised throughout the world due to differing political ideologies, nations that have taken up Article 21 have embraced elections with gusto.

Article 21 also states that :
“… expressed in periodic and genuine elections..”

But how do we judge an election to be ‘genuine’ in Indonesia, central Africa or downtown New York?

In the age of political party machines with billions of dollars have we lost sight of the fact that as citizens WE actually DO take part in government THROUGH elected representatives?
Or, do we just leave it to the experts.

Do you vote?
Think about it.

politics, elections, America, Africa, Global Financial Crises

2009-04-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

There are elections coming up all over the world from Australia to Europe, America to Africa, there are local, State, National and even International elections in 2010.

In America there will be 34 senators elected. How many governors will be re-elected in the United States gubernatorial elections of 2010 in November. What will Arnold Schwarzenegger do next in his political career? Will Arnold Schwarzenegger terminate politics and go back to Hollywood. Will we see Sarah Palin the governor of Alaska re elected again or will Sarah Palin save Republican money and time for the tilt at the presidential elections in 2012. There are so many interesting questions and facts in the upcoming elections in the United States of America.

In other countries around the world, African elections are going to see political activity like this continent has not seen before. It looks like Africa ‘the forgotten continent’ is about to remind the world that African politics are alive and well.

The most interesting African upcoming election is in South Africa on 22 April 2009. The South African election will see both the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures elected and then the President will be elected by the National Assembly.
So Watch the Space for all the media and results of this election.

There will be presidential elections in 2010 held in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan and United Republic of Tanzania. General elections or council elections will also be held in Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Somaliland, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda. This is just the official list and we should not be too surprised to see election fever in Zimbabwe again soon. Madonna may be hoping elections in Malawi will see a change in adoption laws. So, don’t underestimate how elections in other contries will affect you. The world is becoming smaller by the day and if there is one thing that the Global Financil Crises has taught us is that countries, nations and institutions around the globe all connect us little people together. So when someone joins the unemployment line in China, or General Motors suddenly becomes poorer than Oprah Winfrey be sure that unless you live under a rock, somehow, some way it is coming to a supermarket or showroom near you.

This weekend we have 40 political parties contesting the Indonesian elections; yes, 40 political parties in over 400 administrative areas.

Who will get to sit on the United Nations Security Council and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
What direction will the G20 go and who will be included and who will be left out?

The Global Financial Crises (or the GFC) is hitting the globalised economy very hard and raising lots of questions about financial regulation. Will socialism replace free market capitalism and how will the Banksters repair their broken and busted financial institutions. Will socialism save capitalisms as*s and if so how many truck loads of money will be needed to bail the worlds nations out of the hole it seems to have dug for us all. World leaders are running scared as this hole seems long dark and no one seems to know if it really does go all the way to China or not.
So for the most up to date political media and financial media, from the political statistics to the down and dirty political gossip, get on board Politics 2010.

The future waits for no one!