Jakarta – While the next general elections are just two years away, political parties are still yet to agree on the minimum electoral threshold.
The electoral threshold determines the minimum percentage of the House of Representatives vote required for a party to front a presidential candidate.
Star Crescent Party president Hamdan Zoelva said Saturday that the government should allow political parties to develop with no restrictions and allow them to contest the upcoming elections.
"There should be no limitations on political parties contesting the general elections. It should be up to the people to decide," he said, speaking at the party's first anniversary celebrations at the Jakarta Fair Ground in Central Jakarta. "If they do not vote for a party, it will die," he added.
The Star Crescent Party was established last year after its predecessor – the Crescent Star Party – was declared unable to participate in the 2009 elections after failing to meet the electoral threshold requirement.
Zaenal Ma'arif, leader of the newly launched Reform Star Party, however, said his party would have no problems meeting the five percent electoral threshold.
"Five percent of the electoral threshold illustrates an advancement in democracy. If necessary, it could be 7 or even 10 percent," Zaenal, who is also a House deputy speaker, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday. He said he believed that his party would win a ticket to contest the 2009 elections.
He said that having seen the Prosperous Justice Party gain seven seats in the House of Representatives in the 1999 elections and 45 seats in 2004, he was assured that his party would follow suit.
Zaenal, who was officially ousted earlier this month from the Reform Star Party he had established, refounded the party with the same name, saying he had dismissed the older party led by Bursah Zarnubi.
Hamdan said that the 1945 Constitution granted Indonesian citizens the right to association and struggle for the collective rights of the nation.
"We will therefore file a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court if there is an illogical or irrational limitation on political parties contesting the elections," he said. "We will also do so if the electoral threshold is so high that it will be difficult for parties to meet it," he added.
Hamdan also criticized a regulation that requires a political party to have chapters in at least in two-thirds of the country's 33 provinces, to have branches in at least in two-thirds of each province's regencies, to have sub-branches in at least in a quarter of each regency's districts and to have at least 1,000 members in each regency or city.
"Therefore, a new political party needs to have 475,000 members to contest the general elections," he said.
He said that the Crescent Star Party secured 2.9 million voters in the 2004 elections and currently had a complete executive board, which should make it eligible to contest the 2009 elections. "Therefore, the regulation on the electoral threshold should be reviewed," he said.
Hamdan said should his Star Crescent Party be declared eligible to run in the 2009 elections, it will merge with the Crescent Star Party, which is led by Forestry Minister MS Kaban, who will be the president of the new party. He expressed confidence that the new party would be eligible for the 2009 elections.
Earlier, major parties proposed 5 percent for the electoral threshold in the 2009 general election, higher than 2004's electoral threshold of 3 percent, which passed seven parties as contenders in the 2004 elections. Parties failing to meet the requirement will not be allowed to participate in the next election.
Political analysts have generally agreed on the 5 percent requirement, saying the ideal number of parties in the 2009 legislative elections should be between eight and 12. They said this would empower the House and ensure a strong system of checks and balances between the executive and legislative bodies.
Minority parties, meanwhile, including small factions at the House, have called on the legislative body to relax the political laws to allow their candidates to run in 2009.
Earlier, Wiranto of the newly founded People's Consciousness Party, also objected to the implementation of the 5 percent electoral threshold.