MEP Shows Indonesia The Way To Democracy

On Thursday, Indonesia concluded the most complex electoral process ever undertaken in the history of the world by casting and counting, in one single day, over 600 million votes for 4 different legislative chambers, national, provincial and regional, using 500 000 polling stations manned by some 3.5 million official staff, to elect almost 2000 representatives.

That this was a logistical miracle conducted in a peaceful and transparent manner despite some administrative shortcomings; bodes well for the future of democracy in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, which has in a few short years gone from dictatorship to democracy, keeping its territorial integrity intact in a country that spans three time zones with 250 languages and over 15 ethnic groups.

At a time when the western powers are desperately trying to contain the spread of international terrorism by force of arms, the strengthening of democracy by peaceful means in the largest Muslim country in the world is salutary and signal for the future, in the light of recent events in the Middle East.

If it can be done in Indonesia, it can be done any Muslim country.

People are crying out to be free, to have security and a stable future for their children. The lessons to be learned, the cheers for democracy that we heard in Indonesia, must ring out in Baghdad, Damascus, Cairo, Tripoli and Riyadh.

The way forward is through empowerment, cooperation and encouragement, and through practical measures aimed at furthering popular participation in the political process, through substantial financial and, where appropriate, technical support for democratic capacity building. Democratisation by Empowerment is far better, easier, cheaper and more sustainable than democratisation by force