Jakarta Post – Eight religious-based political parties are demanding the government lower the electoral threshold from three percent to two percent in the new legislative election bill to allow the existence of small parties in the forthcoming election.
Article 9 in Law 12/2003 on the legislative election stipulates parties participating in the coming general election must have at least 3 percent of current House membership and at least 4 percent of current regional council membership in 50 percent of the total number of provinces or 50 percent of the total number of cities.
The eight parties demanding the lower threshold are: the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Justice and Welfare Party (PKS), the Peace and Welfare Party (PDS), the Star and Crescent Party (PBB), the Star Reform Party (PBR) and the Democratic Party (PD).
In the 2004 election, PPP gained 58 seats in the House (10,5 percent), PD 55 seats (10 percent), PAN 53 seats (9.6 percent), PKB 52 seats (9.4 percent), PKS 45 seats (8.1 percent), PBR 14 seats (2.5 percent), PDS gained 13 seats (2.3 percent) and PBB won 11 seats (2 percent).
The existing law would eliminate the last three parties from the coming election.
The 2004 election results put both the Golkar Party (128 legislators or 23.3 percent) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (109 legislators or 19.8 percent) in the safe area.
"We hope that the government will consider our input. This is to accommodate diversity of a political nature," said Lukman Hakim Syaifuddin, PPP faction chief at the House of Representatives. "We will bring these issues to the next deliberation."
Lukman said they were also demanding political party members could become candidates of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD). The existing law rules DPD candidates must be non-partisan or individual candidates.
He said the parties wanted to maintain the number of members of the House, the Provincial Councils and the regional councils as they were in the existing law – 550 members for the House, 35 to 100 members for the Provincial Council and 20 to 45 members for regional council.
The parties also requested articles on election areas for all legislative bodies refer to the existing law.
Soetrisno Bachir from PAN said the government should let the people function as the selection mechanism. He requested the government not raise the electoral threshold requirement and said any action must be done in stages.
"We have the same point of view, which differs from that of the two big parties," Soetrisno said. "We need to find a solution on this issue."
Ruyandi Hutasoit from PDS said the government would maintain diversity in the political sector by lowering the electoral threshold.
"It's not because our party didn't achieve 3 percent, but to guard political diversity," he said. MS Kaban from the PBB said the government must allow leeway for small parties to participate in the general election by adjusting the related laws.
"Why can't we compose a dynamic law that could last for a long time, so that we don't have to revise it every time we are facing general elections." said Kaban.