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| Konstituante (Indonesia) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Konstituante |
| Native name | Konstituante Republik Indonesia |
| Legislature | 1956–1959 |
| House type | Constituent Assembly |
| Established | 10 November 1956 |
| Disbanded | 5 July 1959 |
| Preceded by | Sukarno's 1955 election mandate |
| Succeeded by | Guided Democracy |
Konstituante (Indonesia) was the constituent assembly convened after the 1955 Indonesian legislative election to draft a permanent constitution for the Republic of Indonesia during the Liberal Democracy period. It sat between 1956 and 1959 amid intense factionalism among parties such as the Indonesian National Party, the Masyumi Party, the Nahdlatul Ulama, the Indonesian Communist Party, and the Indonesian Socialist Party, while national figures including Sukarno, Mohammad Hatta, Sutan Sjahrir, and Mohammad Natsir influenced debates. The assembly's failure to agree on a constitution precipitated a return to presidential authority under Sukarno's 5 July 1959 decree and shaped subsequent constitutional developments.
The Konstituante emerged from the political settlement following the 1955 elections—the 1955 Indonesian legislative election and the 1955 Indonesian Constituent Assembly election—which produced a fragmented mandate across parties including Golkar precursors, the Indonesian National Party, Masyumi Party, Nahdlatul Ulama, and the Indonesian Communist Party. Debates about the role of Islam versus secular nationalism invoked actors such as Ahmad Sukarno's contemporaries, Wahid Hasyim, Abdul Haris Nasution, and Mohammad Roem, and referenced constitutional precedents like the 1945 Constitution and the United States Constitution in comparative discussions. Pressure from regional movements—PRRI and Permesta sympathizers—and international contexts like the Cold War and relations with Netherlands over West New Guinea shaped expectations for institutional design.
The assembly comprised 514 elected delegates representing parties such as the Indonesian National Party, Masyumi Party, Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesian Communist Party, Indonesian Socialist Party, and smaller groups including the Labour Party of Indonesia, Indonesia Party (Partai Indonesia Raya), and regional delegations from Aceh, Riau, Borneo, and Sulawesi. Prominent individual members included Mr. Amir Sjarifuddin allies, Sutan Sjahrir-era politicians, Mohammad Natsir representatives, religious leaders like Abdul Wahab Hasbullah and Wahab Hasbullah, and intellectuals linked to Universitas Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, and Institut Teknologi Bandung. Parliamentary procedures referenced models from the Provisional People's Consultative Assembly traditions and drew on legal scholars versed in the Legal Code of the Dutch East Indies and debates influenced by jurists such as Soepomo and Muhammad Yamin.
Key contentions centered on whether the new constitution should re-establish the 1945 Constitution's strong presidential framework, adopt a parliamentary model informed by the Westminster system, or construct a hybrid underpinned by Islamic law advocated by factions connected to Masyumi Party and Nahdlatul Ulama. Proposals invoked references to the Jakarta Charter and provisions such as the role of Pancasila versus sharia-based clauses promoted by figures like Mohammad Natsir and Abdul Muis. Leftist blocs including the Indonesian Communist Party argued for social and economic rights inspired by Marxist-oriented constitutions, while centrists from the Indonesian National Party and Indonesian Socialist Party proposed secular nationalist formulations. Committees produced draft texts debated in plenary sessions chaired by speakers with affiliations to Sjahrir-linked groups and parliamentary proceduralists trained at institutions like Leiden University. International observers from the United Nations and diplomats from United States and Soviet Union monitored political stability as the assembly deliberated.
Factional deadlock over religion, the presidency, and regional autonomy intensified with street mobilizations by Islamic organizations and demonstrations organized by labor unions allied with the Indonesian Communist Party. Tensions escalated alongside rebellions in Sumatra and Sulawesi and military figures such as Nasution exerted influence. Negotiations involving leaders including Sukarno, Hatta, Natsir, and Sutan Sjahrir failed to produce consensus. On 5 July 1959, after prolonged impasse and amid fears of instability similar to the PRRI rebellion and Permesta movement, President Sukarno issued the Presidential Decree dissolving the Konstituante and reinstating the 1945 Constitution, a move supported by elements of the Indonesian National Armed Forces and opposed by parliamentaryists and Masyumi factions.
The Konstituante episode influenced later constitutional engineering during Guided Democracy and shaped constitutional scholarship at institutions such as Universitas Gadjah Mada and Universitas Airlangga. Its failure reinforced the authority of the 1945 Constitution until the Reformasi period, informed debates leading to the Amendments to the Constitution of Indonesia in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and affected the role of parties like Golkar and civil society organizations including Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. Historians such as George McTurnan Kahin, J. D. Legge, and Indonesian scholars like Benedict Anderson and Ricklefs have analyzed the Konstituante's dynamics, noting its lessons for constitutional design in plural societies and the interaction between military actors, Islamic movements, and leftist parties in shaping constitutional outcomes.
Category:Politics of Indonesia Category:Constituent assemblies