The first parliament assessed in this study resulted from the general elections in June 1997 and was the sixth legislature in the authoritarian Orde Baru regime. During the authoritarian rule of President Suharto, the Constitution of 1945 remained the legal foundation for the state' institutions. Because of its unclear formulations and the dominant role of the president, it was very suitable for an authoritarian regime. The poorly developed system of checks and balances can be seen in the clauses concerning the national parliament, the DPR (Articles 19–22). As the regulations were so completely insufficient, it is worth listing them:

The Constitution of 1945 did not mention elections, but simply stated in Article 19 that the composition of the DPR should be determined by law. During Orde Baru, an election law was passed in 1969 and amended in 1975, 1980 and 1985.

The general elections of 1997 were the last in the Orde Baru, and they had much in common with the previous in 1971, 1977, 1982, 1987 and 1992. They all had the same proportional electoral system and the three participating parties had remained the same since 1977. Elections, usually taken to be a hallmark of democracy, can also become a tool of authoritarian power holders seeking to legitimize their rule (Schedler 2002, p. 36). This description fits all elections of the Orde Baru perfectly.