Ruhdiara. Agus Junaidi & Siti Fatimah3 . Election Dynamics In Indonesia The First Election Era Of 1955. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM), 3. , 177-192. JSPM ELECTION DYNAMICS IN INDONESIA THE FIRST ELECTION ERA OF 1955 Ruhdiara. Agus Junaidi. Siti Fatimah. Universities State Islam of Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta Corresponding Author : ruhdiara496@gmail. ABSTRACT General elections are a form of democracy organized by the government for the benefit of the people. With the general election, the people participate in providing their political aspirations which are intended to elect their representatives in the government. The general election is the right step taken by the government to implement the principle of people's sovereignty which has been stated in the provisional constitution. In order to perfect the provisional constitution and to elect representatives to sit in Parliament, the Indonesian government held the first general election in 1955. The type of research used in this research is classified as library research. research in which data is processed and extracted from various books, newspapers, magazines and several articles that are related to this research. Then the approach used is a historical approach . istorical researc. While the method used in the research is a descriptive qualitative research method. The results of the research show that Liberal Democracy in Indonesia was expected from 1950 to 1959, in practice the government system adheres to a parliamentary system. This democracy has a very strong characteristic regarding the multi-party system that is adopted, but there is no political party that has an absolute majority. In this system, the age of the cabinet in each government is very short, causing frequent cabinet changes. At this time the second major achievement after the proclamation was successfully obtained was the achievement of the General Election in 1955 whose participants came from various parties that existed at that time in Indonesia. This election was successfully carried out in two stages, namely the first stage on September 29, 1955 holding the election for the DPR and on December 15, 1955 holding the election for Members of the Constituent Assembly. The top four winners of the 1955 election included: PNI. Masyumi. NU and PKI. Keywords: Dynamics of Election. First General Election in 1955 ABSTRAK Pemilihan umum merupakan salah satu bentuk demokrasi yang diselenggarakan oleh pemerintah untuk kepentingan rakyat. Dengan adanya pemilihan umum, masyarakat ikut serta memberikan aspirasi politiknya yang dimaksudkan untuk memilih wakil-wakilnya dalam pemerintahan. Pemilihan umum merupakan langkah tepat yang diambil pemerintah untuk melaksanakan prinsip kedaulatan rakyat yang telah tertuang dalam undang-undang dasar sementara. Untuk menyempurnakan konstitusi sementara dan untuk memilih perwakilan untuk duduk di DPR, pemerintah Indonesia mengadakan pemilihan umum pertama pada tahun 1955. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian kepustakaan. yaitu penelitian yang datanya diolah dan disarikan dari berbagai buku, surat kabar, majalah dan beberapa artikel yang berhubungan dengan penelitian ini. Kemudian pendekatan yang digunakan adalah pendekatan sejarah . istoris researc. Sedangkan metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode penelitian deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Demokrasi Liberal di Indonesia berlangsung dari tahun 1950 hingga 1959, dalam prakteknya sistem pemerintahan menganut sistem parlementer. Demokrasi ini memiliki ciri yang sangat kuat mengenai sistem multi partai yang dianut, namun tidak ada partai politik yang memiliki mayoritas mutlak. Dalam sistem ini, umur kabinet di setiap pemerintahan sangat singkat sehingga sering terjadi pergantian kabinet. Pada saat ini prestasi besar kedua setelah proklamasi berhasil diperoleh adalah prestasi Pemilihan Umum tahun 1955 yang pesertanya berasal dari berbagai partai yang ada saat itu di Indonesia. Pemilihan ini berhasil dilaksanakan dalam dua tahap, yaitu tahap pertama pada 29 September 1955 menyelenggarakan pemilihan DPR dan pada 15 Desember 1955 menyelenggarakan pemilihan Anggota Konstituante. Empat besar pemenang pemilu 1955 antara lain: PNI. Masyumi. NU dan PKI. Kata kunci: Dinamika Pemilu. Pemilu Pertama 1955 E-ISSN: 2747-1292 INTRODUCTION The process of returning the state form from RIS to NKRI cannot be separated from the dynamics of two arguments in the second event in 1950, namely the opinion of Soesanto Tirtoprojo of the PNI who suggested that RIS countries join the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (Ahmad Syafii Maarif, 2006: 123- . , while the second argument of Moh. Natsir, known as Natsir's Integral Motion, gave the opinion that the formation of a unitary state should be carried out without causing conflict either between states or between groups of people in general, which in the end Natsir's argument was used as an alternative to return to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia. In 1950 Indonesia implemented a liberal democratic system in accordance with the 1950 Provisional Constitution. Liberal democracy lasted a very long time in Indonesia, from 1950 to July 1959. In the long journey of liberal democracy implemented in Indonesia, there have been seven cabinet changes. Of course, the frequent changes of cabinets resulted in shock or instability in the course of Indonesian politics at that time. The cabinets that ruled during Liberal Democracy were: Natsir Cabinet . September 1950-21 March 1. Sukiman Cabinet . April 1951-3 April 1. Wilopo Cabinet . April 1952-3 June 1. Ali Cabinet I . July 1953-12 August 1. Burharuddin Harahap Cabinet . August 1955-3 March 1. Ali II Cabinet . March 1956-4 March 1. , and finally Djuanda Cabinet . April 1957-5 July 1. Despite experiencing successive cabinet changes, the second biggest achievement after the Proclamation of Independence was carried out in Liberal democracy, namely regarding the first General Election conducted by the State of Indonesia. General election . is one of the main pillars of an accumulation process that is desired by the community. General elections are also held every five years at the same time and are based on Pancasila democracy. Voting is held in Direct. Public. Free and Secret (LUBER) (Siti Fatimah, 2018: 1-. General elections are a means of democracy to form a system of state power desired by the people, by the people and for the people. Elections are aimed at upholding the principle of popular sovereignty and channeling the nation's basic political will. General elections in Indonesia for the first time were held by the Cabinet of Burharuddin Harahap (Masyum. (Maarif, 2006: 123Ae. The 1955 election used Law Number 7 of 1953 concerning the general election of Constituent and DPR members, and was prepared and carried out by a general election body, namely the Indonesian Elections Committee (PPI). This election body is independent because all political representatives have their representatives in the PPI. 177 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 Then the 1955 elections were held democratically which was followed by many parties or commonly referred to as a multi-party system, at that time the Indonesian people voted directly for members of parliament and the constituent assembly (Fadjar, 2013: 3-. According to the Election Law No. 7 of 1953 concerning the right to vote in chapter 1 of Article 1, it states that members of the constituent assembly and members of the people's representative council are elected by Indonesian citizens who in the election are even 18 years old or who have married first (Dewantarina, 2. : 71-. The length of the election process was due to political debates between the governing cabinet and the opposition, as stated by Deliar Noer . who stated that the length of the election preparation process was due to strong political factors such as the change of chairman of the Indonesian Elections Committee (PPI) from the US at that time. was replaced by Hadikusumo from the PNI and Masyumi was excluded from the PPI, while NU. PSII, and Perti, which are Islamic political parties, did not protest. This policy continued with massive turnover of important officials at both the central and regional levels. Political conflict factors, especially during the Burhanuddin Harahap era, often occurred, the PNI as the largest opposition party continued to criticize the government, which suspected that all preparations for the election were accused by the opposition as an attempt by the government to win elections in an undemocratic manner, and was considered a threat to parties in Indonesia. outside the Islamic party. This is understandable because Masyumi is one of the largest Islamic parties in Indonesia. The task of holding elections is indeed a task assigned to the Cabinet of Burhanuddin Harahap referring to the ultra-democratic Law Number 7 of 1953, so the consequence is to guarantee all groups, parties, organizations and even individuals to participate in the general election, the largest electoral districts such as Central Java, general elections even followed by 45 political parties. By referring to the principle of togetherness, every individual is recognized as having equal rights and position before the law. Therefore, in the first general election in 1955, all representatives of the people were elected through general elections and no one was The 1955 general election was held twice, namely on September 29, 1955 to elect members of the DPR, while on December 15, 1955, to elect members of the constituent assembly (Thoha, 2014: . Based on the background above, the writer wants to describe in this article the dynamics of the 1955 general election in Indonesia. 178 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 LITERATURE REVIEW First, the research conducted by Budi Sujati with the title "The Dynamics of the Nahdlatul Ulama Party in the 1955 General Election in West Java" (Sujati, 2020: . The method used by this researcher is descriptive qualitative method, while the approach used by this researcher is through the stages of Heuristics. Criticism. Interpretation and Historical Writing. The findings of this study indicate that the First Al-Islam congress which was held in Cirebon in 1922 was the first step of the traditional ulema to realize unity in organizational ties. So when Nahdlatul Ulama was formed in 1926, the presence of Nahdlatul Ulama in West Java was one of the reactions to the emergence of local Islamic organizations that thrived in this region over the conflicts that surfaced between the traditionalist camps and the reformist camps which were mutually influenced by the two camps. The conflict between the two camps continued when Muslims founded the Masyumi Party as a Muslim community, but in its activities NU always had very little influence within the Masyumi Party, so that in the end at the 19th Congress in Palembang 1952 it was decided to separate from Masyumi. The transformation from Jamiyah into a political party also had an impact on the existence of Nahdlatul Ulama in West Java, which was one of Masjumi's bases at that time and even now. As evidenced by the fact that it took only three years from the 1952 Muktamar activities to the 1955 general election, to prepare the NU Party in winning the sympathy of the Nahdliyin residents of West Java, it was felt that it was still lacking even though various methods had been carried out by party officials to attract the attention of Muslims, one of which was by recruiting members . igure ) who has charisma in the area, qualified formal education, and people who are ready to fight with the NU party so that this party will be able to get encouraging results. Second, the research conducted by Salahudin Pakaya and Amin Dali with the title "Democracy and the Party System in Indonesia" (Pakaya & Dali, 2021: . The findings of this study indicate that the history of the Indonesian state administration cannot be separated from the democratic system that has been imposed by the regime of power. Based on time, experts categorize power regimes into three orders . , namely the old order, the new order, and the reform order. The Old Order under the leadership of President Soekarno . practiced Parliamentary Democracy and Guided Democracy, then the New Order under the leadership of President Soeharto . practiced Pancasila Democracy, and after the fall of Suharto entered the Reform Order . 8 - presen. marked the amendment of the Constitution 1945 179 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 which can be said as Constitutional Democracy. In every power order that practiced this, a party system was also applied according to the will of the power at that time. During the Parliamentary Democracy period it was agreed to use a multi-party party system . any partie. , but over time President Soekarno replaced it with a simple multi-party system. During the Pancasila Democracy period. Suharto succeeded in simplifying the number of parties that could participate in the elections, namely p. Golkar and PDI, although in the end Suharto succeeded in making Golkar the dominant party . ingle part. The Reform Order which requires the implementation of Constitutional Democracy adheres to a simple multi-party system, using elections as an instrument to simplify the number of parties that enter the DPR. Simplification of the number of parties using the electoral threshold and parliamentary threshold . Third, the research conducted by Teguh Dias Arestu with the title "The First Form of Implementation of Democracy in Indonesia" (Arestu, 2021: . The method used by this researcher is descriptive writing method. The findings of this study indicate that liberal democracy began when Indonesia had a meeting at the KMB to form a parliament. With the cabinet in progress, the pattern of policy depends on the prime minister in charge of his time. Like the burhanudin harahap cabinet, which made the first general election work program in Indonesia, which caused a lot of confusion in the surrounding countries. Fourth, research conducted by Tsabit Azinar Ahmad with the title "Campaigns and Political Battles in Central Java Ahead of the 1955 General Election " (TA Ahmad, 2016: 45-. The four major parties winning the general election, namely PNI. Masyumi. NU, and PKI, were also actively involved in the campaign. Each has an approach and goals that have been mapped out in such a way. In order to attract the sympathy of the people, it is not uncommon for these parties to experience discourse battles. Discourse battles mainly occur between PNI-Masyumi. PKIMasyumi. In Central Java, discourses on parties and their struggles also colored the campaign process ahead of polling day. The other parties considered Masyumi as a rival, so attacks were coming against Masyumi. RESEARCH METHODS The type of research used in the study is classified as library research , namely research in which data is processed and extracted from various books, newspapers, magazines and several writings that are related to this research (Nazir, 2007: . Then in this study the approach used is a historical approach . istorical researc. Historical approach is a study and other sources containing information about the past and carried out systematically, or in other words research 180 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 that describes symptoms but not what happened at the time or at the time the research was conducted, in this historical research it explains the dynamics the first election in 1955. While the method used in the research is a descriptive qualitative research method (Meleong, 2010: . Qualitative research is research that requires an in-depth and thorough understanding of the object being studied as well as answering problems to obtain data, then analyzing and obtaining research conclusions in certain situations and conditions. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The Implementation of Liberal Democracy Before the General Elections of 1955 Indonesia has implemented a liberal parliamentary democracy since 1950 by imitating the western parliamentary system, so this period is called the era of liberal democracy. Liberal democracy or . onstitutional democrac. is a political system that constitutionally protects individual rights from government power (S. Arta, 2014: . The main feature of liberal democracy is the frequent changing of cabinets. This is due to the large number of parties, but despite the large number of parties, none has an absolute majority. The system of government adopted and applied during the liberal democracy period was the parliamentary system (Purnamawati, 2020: . The parliamentary system in a liberal democracy, the President and the Vice President are only symbols that do not have daily government functions. According to the 1950 Constitution, legislative power is held by the president, cabinet and DPR (Zulkarnain, 2012: . The prime minister runs the day-to-day administration and leads a cabinet that has been approved by the president. As a result of the party system that adheres to a multi-party system, the parties exercise their power through parliament. In Liberal democracy that occurs in Indonesia, there are often cabinet changes. This change occurs almost every year, which indicates that the cabinet's strength is weak so that it can be overthrown by parties or other people. The cabinets during the liberal democracy period Natsir Kabinet Cabinet The Natsir Cabinet was the first cabinet which took place on September 6, 1950 - March 21, 1951. The work program of the Natsir cabinet was to intensify security and peace efforts, achieve consolidation and refinement of the government structure, perfect the organization of the armed forces, develop and strengthen the people's economy and resolve the Irian problem. West (S. Arta, 2014: . The results obtained during this cabinet period were the first time negotiations between Indonesia and the Netherlands were held on the issue of West Irian. This 181 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 cabinet fell because it received a vote of no confidence, and Natsir had to return his mandate to the President. Sukiman Cabinet The Sukiman Cabinet was the second cabinet which took place on April 27, 1951 - April 3. The work program of the Sukiman Cabinet was to ensure security and peace, to strive for the prosperity of the people and to renew agrarian law to suit the interests of the party, to speed up preparations for general elections, to carry out foreign policy. freely and actively and enter West Irian into the territory of the Republic of Indonesia as soon as possible (S. Arta, 2014: . The results obtained during this cabinet period were not too significant, this was because this cabinet continued the work program of the previous cabinet. This cabinet fell because it was deemed to have violated the free and active policy and was more inclined to the United States. Wilopo Cabinet This cabinet took place from April 3, 1952 to June 3, 1953. The work program of the Wilopo Cabinet was the domestic program of holding general elections . DPR, and DPRD), increasing people's prosperity, increasing people's education, and restoring security and foreign programs for settlement. Indonesia-Dutch relations problems, the return of West Irian to Indonesia's lap and carrying out a free and active foreign policy (S. Arta, 2014:. The Wilopo Cabinet carried out a free and active foreign policy, but this cabinet was also tasked with abolishing the agreement with the United States that occurred during the Sukiman Cabinet, by trying to obtain assistance on less binding terms. (Ricklefs, 2009, p. This cabinet fell because it received a no-confidence motion that was submitted to the parliament because the Wilopo Cabinet was considered to have failed in dealing with regional upheavals. Ali Sastroamijoyo I . Cabinet This cabinet took place from July 31, 1953 to August 12, 1955. The work program of the Ali I Cabinet was to increase security and prosperity and to immediately hold elections, the immediate liberation of West Irian, the implementation of free and active politics and a review of the KMB agreement, the settlement of political disputes resulting from The gains from this cabinet are preparations for general elections to elect members of parliament which will be held on September 29, 1955, and convening the Asian-African Conference or KAA in 1955. (S. Arta, 2014: . During the Ali I Cabinet, the big event of the Asian-African Conference (KAA) was successfully held in Bandung. Ali's cabinet fell because NU withdrew from the cabinet, due to a feud with the PNI. In addition, due to worsening economic conditions and corruption, which resulted in people's trust declining in the Ali I Cabinet (Poesponegoro, 2008: . 182 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 Burharuddin's Cabinet Hope this Cabinet took place on 12 August 1955-3 March 1956. The work program of this cabinet was to restore the authority of the government, including restoring the trust of the army and the public to the government, conducting general elections according to a predetermined plan and accelerating the formation of a new parliament. problems of decentralization, inflation, eradication of corruption, the struggle for the return of West Irian, the politics of cooperation in Asia and Africa based on a free and active foreign policy (S. Arta, 2014: . The results obtained during this cabinet period were successful in holding general elections for members of the DPR, constituents and successfully restoring the authority of the government of the Republic of Indonesia in the eyes of the army. This cabinet fell because many parties pulled their ministers out of the cabinet and finally Burharuddin returned the mandate to the president (Mudjiono, 2017: . Ali Sastroamijoyo II Cabinet This cabinet took place on March 20, 1956 - March 4, 1957. The work programs in this cabinet were the struggle for the return of West Irian, the formation of autonomous regions and accelerating the formation of DPRD members, seeking to improve the fate of workers and employees, improving the balance of state finances, realizing changes in the colonial economy to become national based on the interests of the people. In addition, the main programs are the cancellation of the Round Table Conference, restoration of security and order, five-year development, carrying out a free and active foreign policy, implementing the decisions of the Asia-Africa Conference or KAA. The result obtained from this cabinet is that it has full support from the President and is considered the starting point of the planning and investment period , the result is the cancellation of all Round Table Conference agreements or KBM (S. Arta, 2014: . This cabinet fell because of the blazing anti-China spirit in society, the emergence of upheaval in the region which was getting stronger and led to the movement of separatism. Juanda Cabinet This cabinet lasted from April 9, 1957 to July 5, 1959. The work program of this cabinet was to form a national council, normalize the state of Indonesia, launch the cancellation of KBM, struggle for the return of Irian Jaya, and accelerate the development process. The results obtained from the Djuanda Cabinet are regulating the boundaries of Indonesia's national waters through the Djuanda declaration, which regulates the inland sea and territorial sea. Through Djuanda's declaration, it shows that the territorial integrity of Indonesia has been created where the sea and land are one unified whole and round, the formation of a national council as a body that aims to 183 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 accommodate and channel the growth of existing power in society with the President as its chairman (S. Arta, 2014: . This cabinet fell when the President planned a decree in July The presidential decree was finally issued because the constituents were deemed to have failed and had not been able to form a new constitution as a replacement for the UUDS. happened on 9 July 1959 which ended liberal democracy in Indonesia. Based on the explanation above, the liberal democratic system ended in 1959 after the issuance of the Presidential Decree. Although the liberal democratic government experienced many political upheavals caused by frequent changes of cabinets due to the implementation of the multi-party system, this period also succeeded in giving birth to the second major event, namely the creation of the first general election in 1955. The Implementation of the 1955 General Election and Its Legal Basis. In the implementation of the 1955 general election, several legal grounds were used, namely Article 1 paragraph . of the 1950 Constitution which states that the sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia is in the hands of the people and is carried out by the Government together with the House of Representatives. This gives rise to the fact that the Indonesian state adheres to the principle of people's sovereignty (Mahfud, 2017: . Article 35 reads "the will of the people is the basis of the power of the ruler, this will is expressed in periodic honest elections which are carried out according to general and equal suffrage, as well as by secret voting or according to a method that guarantees freedom of expression". This article orders that general elections be held at certain times. As it is known that the 1950 Constitution was temporary and in due course it would be replaced with a Constitution which was still the work of the Constituent Assembly chosen by the Therefore. Article 134 of the 1950 Constitution ordered the Constituent Assembly (Basic Law-Making Sessio. together with the Government to immediately enact the Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. The 1950 Constitution, article 135 paragraph . stipulates that the members of the Constituent Assembly are elected by Indonesian citizens on a general basis and in a free and secret manner according to the rules established by law. This means that for the preparation of the Constituent Assembly must go through a general election. Preparations for drafting a General Election Law as ordered by articles 57 and 134 of the 1950 Constitution, between 1950-1952 were not very smooth, although experience has shown that successive cabinets were unable to obtain a stable majority in Parliament. When a serious conflict on October 17, 1952 signaled the existence of anti-parliamentary tendencies in the 184 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 country, then very important things were carried out, and the implementation of general elections could be felt by almost all groups. In order to organize elections, organizing bodies called the Indonesian Election Committee are formed in the capital, the Election Committee in each electoral district and the Regency Election Committee in each district. The committee consists of government officials with the assistance of political parties, implementation responsibility rests with the minister of the interior, but broad powers with the Indonesian Elections Committee or parties. The Election Committee had been formed since the Wilopo cabinet chaired by Mr Asaat . on-part. , but was adrift, so when Ali's cabinet was replaced, chaired by S. Hadikusuma (PNI) the composition of its members largely reflected the government parties. , received strong protests from parties outside the The holding of this general election is completely separate from the executive. The government here acts as the only person in charge. In fact, the Indonesian Election Committee may submit opinions and recommendations as well as proposals whether requested or not to the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Home Affairs regarding this election . Thus, there is no assumption that the Government interfered in the general election. This is necessary to ensure the principle of free and confidential elections, and thus the elections can be run The 1955 election was not only attended by political parties, but also by organizations and In the general election for members of the DPR, there were 118 election participants consisting of: 36 political parties, 34 organizations, 48 individuals. While the general election participants for the Constituent Assembly were 91 participants consisting of: 39 political parties, 23 community organizations, 29 individuals (Labolo & Ilham, 2015: 115-. Herberth Feith classified the participants in the 1955 general election based on the number of seats they gained into: Big Party. Medium Party. Small group with National coverage, small group covering Region. At the time of the campaign carried out by political parties in order to get a vote of support from the community. In Law no. 7 of 1953 no one regulates campaign time and campaign costs (Mohsin, 2018: . , there are only a few areas for security reasons when campaigning is regulated, namely West Java. Aceh. South Sulawesi and South Kalimantan are prohibited from campaigning on September 25 to 29 . oting da. , while in other places throughout Indonesia are prohibited campaign on September 28 to 29. The general election campaign in 1955 ran from the beginning of 1953 until the election year or for 2 years during Ali I's cabinet. The atmosphere of 185 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 the general election campaign had widely influenced the life of parties and the general public, so that the activities of parties had increased in ideological prominence, especially around basic problems of the state. In the early days of independence . political parties did not only fight for political power in this Republic, but through their respective military wings to maintain the survival of the Republic of Indonesia. Driven to garner active peasant support for the Republic, the parties expanded their influence in the villages. In rural areas there is little competition between the parties that emerges is the tendency of a large area to become the territory of a particular party. As a result, at the village level not much effort was made to establish official party organizations. However, it is undeniable that the impact of political parties in the countryside can be felt. The government party made anti-colonialism a major part of their campaign equipment. They praised the cabinet's determination to eradicate the remnants of colonial power in Indonesia and its efforts to reclaim West Irian (Thoha, 2014: . When President Soekarno warned of attempts by foreign powers to overthrow the cabinet, clearly implying that opposition leaders were involved in these efforts, the government parties had strong arguments. They got an even stronger argument with the success of the government in holding the Asia-Africa conference in Bandung, five months before the general election for Parliament was held (Pamungkas, 2019: 4. In each campaign the names of the party figures chosen to be featured in the campaign follow the order of their names in the list of candidates for each electoral district. Therefore, parties that place a single leader at the top of the list of candidates, such as PKI. Masjumi, and PSI, for example, highlight the personal characteristics of the leader concerned. Other parties usually top the names of candidates who are considered to have great appeal in certain constituencies, and emphasize the personal characteristics of the candidates concerned in their The easy nomination procedure, and because there is no limit to the length of the list of candidates, encourages the candidacy of many people who are unlikely to be elected, but who have names within the group. At the village level, campaigns generally also highlight the personal characteristics of village leaders. Very diverse campaign methods and techniques are used from the parties and from the Meetings are held at all levels, in the town square or at the village hall with speakers from Jakarta or local party leaders, general meetings or member meetings, women's or youth gatherings, public lectures, film screenings, birthday celebrations or parades, birthday 186 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 celebrations religion, and lively gatherings of folk theater. At that time, for the sake of the general election many people happily walked the five kilometers or more to the polls. Others have to take a boat to get to the nearest island where they can choose, and they don't complain about it. Voting Results in the 1955 General Election The results of the 1955 General Election as the first general election held in Indonesia, attracted the attention of the public, especially constitutional law experts both at home and abroad, because they had a great influence on the life of the state administration, government, especially the democratic system and party system. In general, the results of the 1955 general election were felt to be still not good, because they were not in line with the long-awaited However, as a comparison, as material for self-introspection and to benefit from a very useful experience, as Herbert Feith said that the 1955 General Election in Indonesia was very interesting and was an experiment in the implementation of democracy, drawing attention to the political mechanism, which determine the basics of politics in Indonesia as well as material for community analysis (Solikhin, 2017: 41-. The total population of Indonesia is 77,987,979 and those who have the right to vote are 43,104,464. The valid votes amounted to 37,787,569 votes for the DPR and 37,837,111 votes for the constituents. Not all election contestants get seats in the DPR or in the Constituent Assembly. Only 28 election contestants got seats in the DPR, while in the constituents there were 34 contestants who were able to win seats (KS Arta, 2020: . The international community recognizes the advantages and disadvantages of the 1955 general election, which was the first general election held in Indonesia, seeing from this there are several advantages and disadvantages of the 1955 election. The advantages and disadvantages of this election are as follows: Strengths: . The level of people's participation is very large. large percentage of valid votes, even though 70% of Indonesia's population is illiterate. The election was conducted in a safe, orderly and disciplined manner and far from elements of violence and fraud. However, the election also had its drawbacks, such as: . There was a constitutional crisis, . There were no political parties that obtained an absolute majority of . Many cause disappointment in political parties. The results of the 1955 general election showed fierce competition between four parties such as PNI. Masyumi. NU and PKI (Mahfud, 2017: . No contestant can win by absolute or by majority. The top four votes in the 1955 General Election were as follows: Table 1. Results of the 1955 General Election for Members of the DPR 187 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 No Party Name Voice Chair Indonesian National Party (PNI) Masyumi Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) PSII Indonesian Christian Party (Parkind. Catholic Party Indonesian Socialist Party (PSI) Indonesian Independence Supporters Association (IPKI) Perti National People's Party (PRN) Labor Party The Panca Sila Defenders Movement (GPPS) Indonesian People's Party (PRI) Indonesian Police Employees Association (P3RI) Common Baperki The Greater Indonesia Association (PIR) Wongsonegoro Grind Indonesian Marhaen People's Association (Perma. Power Union (PD) PIR Hazairin PPTI ACKNOWLEDGE Village People's Association (PRD) Free Indonesian Republican Party (PRIM) Young Communist Forces (Acom. Soedjono Prawirisoedarso Etc Amount 8,434,653 7,903. 6,955,141 6,179,914 1,091,160 770,740 483,014 224,167 219,985 200,419 199,588 178,887 178,481 149,287 146,054 114,644 85,131 77,919 72,523 64,514 022,433 37,785,299 From the 1955 elections, a coalition party was formed between PNI. Masyumi, and NU without involving the PKI. This cabinet is led by Mr. Ali Sastroamidjojo (PNI) as Prime Minister. Mr. Mohammad Roem (Masyum. as Deputy PM 1. KH Idham Chalid (NU) as Deputy PM II. Therefore, this cabinet was known as the ALI II Cabinet or the AliRoem-Idham Cabinet. The results of the 1955 election showed that although the majority of the Indonesian population was Muslim . %), not all Indonesians channeled their aspirations to Islamic parties or groups. In this election. Islamic parties and groups only won 116 seats . 2%) of the 257 parliamentary seats up for grabs. However, when compared to the number of representatives of 188 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 Islamic parties in the temporary DPR . efore the electio. which only amounted to 57 people in the DPR, the result actually experienced a fairly large increase. The votes and seats in the Constituent Assembly for each Islamic party or group are as follows: Table 2. 1955 Election Results for Constituent Members. Party Name Voice Chair Indonesian National Party (PNI) Masyumi Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) PSII Indonesian Christian Party (Parkind. Catholic Party Indonesian Socialist Party (PSI) Indonesian Independence Supporters Association (IPKI) Perti National People's Party (PRN) Labor Party The Panca Sila Defenders Movement (GPPS) Indonesian People's Party (PRI) Indonesian Police Employees Association (P3RI) Common Baperki The Greater Indonesia Association (PIR) Wongsonegoro Grind Indonesian Marhaen People's Association (Perma. Power Union (PD) PIR Hazairin PPTI ACKNOWLEDGE Village People's Association (PRD) Free Indonesian Republican Party (PRIM) Young Communist Forces (Acom. Soedjono Prawirisoedarso Sundanese Choice Movement Indonesian Peasant Party King of Keprabonan The Bull Movement of the Republic of Indonesia (GBRI) PIR NTB LM Idrus Effendi Etc Amount 9,070,218 7,789,619 6,989,333 6,232,512 1,059,922 988,810 784,591 695,932 465,359 220,652 134,011 179,346 248,633 160,456 162,420 157,976 169,222 84,862 39,278 55,844 38,356 35,035 30,060 33,660 39,874 33,823 31,988 426,856 37,837,105 189 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 As for the election of members of the Constituent Assembly, which was held on December 15, 1955, the number of seats for the Constituent Assembly was 520, but in West Irian, which had 6 seats, there was no election. So only 514 seats were selected. The results of the election for members of the Constituent Assembly showed that the PNI. NU and PKI increased in support, while Masyumi, although still the second winner, his vote share fell by 114,267 compared to the votes obtained in the election of members of the DPR (KS Arta, 2020: 82 ) . According to Zulfikriddin, this analysis is excessive considering the number of people who have voting rights are 43,104,463 people. Another thing that caused the estimation to be wrong was due to the spread of voters to various election participants, especially PNI and NU. The party most satisfied with the election results was the PKI because it managed to surprise by increasing the number of seats in parliament. NU from 8 to 45, while the PKI from 17 to 39. Masjumi got the same number of seats as the PNI in the DPR, although the PNI got more votes because the advantages of Masjumi were more evenly distributed. PNI only won in the constituencies of Central Java, while Masyumi won in 10 constituencies. Meanwhile. NU won in the constituencies of East Java and NTB. Based on this, it means that Masyumi is a party that is more widely and evenly supported throughout Indonesia. According to Abdul Munir and Boyd R. Compton, this success was due to Natsir's leadership, so Masyumi was in the top position of all the votes acquired by Islamic parties throughout the history of elections in Indonesia. However, overall in the 1955 general election. Islamic parties received 45% of the total votes cast. This greatly affects the smooth running of fighting for the party's ideals in parliament and in the constituent assembly, this reality is immediately seen in the debate about the state in the constituent assembly (Maarif, 2006: 122-. Unfortunately, the success story of the 1955 General Election could not be continued and only became a golden record of history. The first election did not continue with the second election five years later, although in 1958 Acting President Sukarno had appointed the Indonesian Election Committee II. What followed was a change in the political format with the issuance of a Presidential Decree of 5 July 1959, a presidential decree to dissolve the Constituent Assembly and a re-statement of the 1945 Constitution. CONCLUSION From the description above, it can be concluded that Liberal Democracy in Indonesia lasted from 1950 to 1959, in its implementation the government system adhered to a parliamentary This democracy has a very strong characteristic regarding the multi-party system adopted 190 | Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik Malikussaleh (JSPM) Volume 3 Nomor 1 Tahun 2022 but there is no political party that has an absolute majority. In this system, the age of the cabinet in each government is very short, causing frequent cabinet changes. At this time the second major achievement after the proclamation was successfully obtained was the achievement of the first General Election in 1955 whose participants came from various parties that existed at that time in Indonesia. General elections are a form of democracy organized by the government for the benefit of the people. With the general election, the people participate in providing their political aspirations which are intended to elect their representatives in the government, as well as one form of appropriate steps taken by the government to implement the principle of people's sovereignty which has been stated in the provisional constitution. This election was successfully carried out in two stages, namely the first stage on 29 September 1955 holding the DPR election and on 15 December 1955 the election of members of the Constituent Council whose task was to draft a constitution in lieu of the provisional constitution. Elections were held by the cabinet of Burhanuddin Harahap, in the 1955 elections not only political parties, but also organizations and In the general election for members of the DPR, there were 118 election participants consisting of: 36 political parties, 34 organizations, 48 individuals. While the general election participants for the Constituent Assembly were 91 participants consisting of: 39 political parties, 23 community organizations, 29 individuals. The results of the vote placed the four major parties winning the first general election, namely the Indonesian National Party (PNI). Masyumi. Nahdatul Ulama and the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI). Meanwhile, the advantages and disadvantages of the first general election in 1955 are as follows: The advantages are: . The level of people's participation is very large. A large percentage of valid votes, even though 70% of Indonesia's population is illiterate. Elections will run in a safe, orderly and disciplined manner and are far from elements of violence and However, this election also has its drawbacks, such as: . There is a constitutional crisis, . There is no political party that gets an absolute majority of votes. Many cause disappointment in political parties. DAFTAR PUSTAKA