Designing a Constitutional Presidential Democracy in Indonesia

Abstract

The constitutional design of the Indonesian democracy has undergone several significant changes from President Sukarno’s regime known as Orde Lama or the Old Order (1945-1965) to Era Reformasi or Reformation Era (1998 to present). During the drafting of the 1945 Constitution, the desire to form a democratic system of government that is unique to Indonesia has led its founding fathers to adopt an ambivalent system of government resembling both a parliamentary and presidential systems of government. By investigating the Indonesian democracy and system of government through the analysis of relevant articles of the 1945 Constitution, the present study seeks to address the question how to design a constitutional presidential democracy in Indonesia. The research results show that with the election of president and vice president and their accountability to the People’s Consultative Assembly or Majelis Perwalikan Rakyat (MPR), the design of the Indonesian system of government better fits a parliamentary more than a presidential. However, the four amendments to the 1945 Constitution (from 1999 to 2002) were intended to pave the way for a presidential democracy capable of accommodating the characteristics of a true presidential system of government in Indonesia.