POWER LAW SIGNATURE IN INDONESIAN LEGISLATIVE ELECTION 1999-2004

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POWER LAW SIGNATURE IN INDONESIAN
LEGISLATIVE ELECTION 1999-2004

Hokky Situngkir^*)
Dept. Computational Sociology
Bandung Fe Institute

Abstract

We analyzed the distribution of the result of Indonesian 1999 and 2004 legislative
election in order to have the statistical properties or any stylized facts. The paper shows
that the analysis results the power-law signature persistently in the election of the House
of Representative in 1999 and 2004 and more clearly in the result of Regional
Representative Council that held for the first time in 2004. It shows that the socio-
political system is a complex system constituted by interacting citizens and accentuates
universality that the social evolution dynamically turns to be self-organized in critical
state.

Keywords: election, legislative, Indonesia, power-law, scale-free

It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting.

Tom Stoppard, Jumpers

1. Background

Interval the year 1999 to 2004 is the period of social and political reform in Indonesia.
The General Election 1999 is believed to be the first fair election in Indonesia after
escaping from 32 years of dictatorship regime. There are 48 political parties joined the
election for DPR (House of Representatives) and DPRD I & II (regional and city
councils). In 2004, the political reform has urged to change the rule of political system
including the election system. The political system has changed to be the bicameralism
system while General Election is held in order to let citizens choose directly the members
of DPR (House of Representatives), DPRD I & II (city councils) and DPD (the Regional
Representative Council). Directly is by means of choose not only from the collection of
political parties but choose directly the individuals to be seated in certain political
insitutions. It is obvious that the election 2004 become a hope for a better political
system in Indonesia.

^*) Author is researcher in Bandung Fe Institute, Indonesia. Selected-papers are available in personal
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/quicchote

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