How Suharto controls the elections

ldirect intervention in the "election" of party leaders

lpreventing campaigning outside the official period

lopposition party activities limited to big towns and cities

lall candidates are "screened" before they can be nominated

lcampaign funds for each party are determined by the government

larmed forces, veteran organisations, civil service and members of their families are "obliged" to vote Golkar

lvoting by students in their last year of school is administered by teachers who will fail them if they don't vote Golkar

lat the village level, officials bribe, coerce or and intimidate people into voting Golkar

lballot papers make it easy to manipulate how votes are distributed or to invalidate a non-Golkar vote

ladditional ballots can be distributed or ballot boxes switched if the vote goes against Golkar

If all this weren't enough, the make-up of the two legislative bodies is such that pro-government representatives always hold a majority of seats. The MPR, the highest legislative body which meets once every five years to "vote" on nominations for the president and vice-president, is made up of 1000 members. Five hundred members are appointed by the president, and the remainder drawn from the 500 member parliament; 425 of these are "elected" and the rest appointed from the armed forces.

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