Earlier clashes between Golkar members and PPP followers, whose ranks have been swelled by supporters of Megawati, had already prompted the authorities to ban campaigning in the capital. Elsewhere in the country, young voters are venting their anger against Golkar. The campaign-related death toll stands at about 110. Most have been victims of road crashes, but some died in inter-group fighting. Wider discontent is showing itself.
People are dissatisfied with what they see as the arrogance of power.
Sutjipto, the PDI's outspoken East Java chairman, blames the government for the violence. The lack of genuine democratic institutions, he says, means there are no outlets through which the public's sentiments can be channelled. If young people were educated in a democratic way, so that they could discuss their ideas with older people, then the outcome would be rational, not emotional. Yet in the current campaign he has hovered almost benevolently above the fray. While criticism of the government has run strong, his name has remained sacrosanct.