Political parties in Indonesia through the elections (1945-2019)

Abstract

Indonesian political parties were born early and are closely associated with historical periods of Indonesia. In the pre-independence period, some political parties in Indonesia appeared, but their struggle goals and action programs were not clear and not recognized by the Dutch colonial government because they were considered against the authorities and destabilized the security situation. In the post-independence period, Indonesian political parties flourished and played a certain role in the Indonesian political system. In each period of Indonesian history after 1945, the number of political parties as well as their goals were also very different. The multi-party or single-party system in the Indonesian political system is dominated and controlled by the government. Using the historical research method and interdisciplinary approach, especially political sciences, the article studies Indonesian political parties through 3 periods.: (1) the Old Order, (2) the New Order, and (3) the Reform. In each period, the article examines the existence and role of Indonesian political parties through elections as well as their participation in legislative institution. At the same time, the article also examines Indonesia’s democracy through elections in the above three periods.