Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – Two surveys have shown that the public largely agrees with the view of the major political parties that a reduced number of factions in the House of Representatives would facilitate more effective government.
According to a study released on Thursday by Indo Barometer, 42.3 percent of 1,200 respondents said the ideal number of parties represented in the legislature should be less than the current nine.
Some 17.8 percent wanted the legislature to have five political factions, while 17.3 percent wanted just three. By contrast, 16 percent of respondents said they wanted more than nine parties.
Achmad Mubarok, a senior official from the ruling Democratic Party, which is the largest in the House, said a streamlined legislative system would strengthen the country's presidential system. "But right now, it seems like the House is the one in control," he said.
According to Achmad, political maneuvering in the legislature was based on party interests, not the nation's. He said the ideal threshold for votes needed by parties to qualify for seats in the House would be 5 percent, twice that of the current threshold.
About a quarter of those surveyed by Indo Barometer agreed the current threshold was too low. Of that group, some 40 percent said doubling the threshold would be the best move.
Meanwhile, less than 10 percent of the respondents said the current threshold was too high, with most suggesting a range of between 1 percent and 2 percent. Twenty percent of those surveyed saw the current threshold as appropriate, while 45 percent did not have an opinion.
Bursah Zarnubi, chairman of the Reform Star Party (PBR), which failed to win a seat in the House during the 2009 elections because it did not meet the 2.5 percent threshold, said that while the idea of simplifying the legislative system was acceptable, it betrayed the democratic process.
"Democracy gives us a different perspective, one in which each citizen should be accommodated," he said.
"The country is diverse, so we need to allow access for each individual to play a role in politics, in governing the country. Increasing the legislative threshold is a way to kill off the smaller parties."
Meanwhile, a survey released on Wednesday by political consultancy Charta Politika showed that 56 percent of 378 respondents believed the high number of factions had an adverse effect on the House's performance.
Almost 69 percent of the respondents believed the number of parties in the House should be reduced to five or less – 38.3 percent wanted between three and five, while 30.4 percent were in favor of one to three.