Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The debate on independent candidates and local elections continues, with some party members arguing independent candidates should have to gain at least 15 percent of electoral support – the minimum percentage for candidates endorsed by political parties.

Currently one party or a coalition of parties can nominate a candidate for a local election, provided the candidate has a minimum 15 percent of accumulated votes in the legislative election.

The independent candidate debate has been extended with the Constitutional Court ruling a green light on their eligibility to run for local elections.

But the practice is so far legal only in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam under the 2006 Aceh Administration law, a ruling which came to be amidst a political compromise to end the area's decades-long armed conflict.

Syamsuddin Haris of the National Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said Saturday the practice in Aceh could be mirrored nationally via a revision of the 2004 law on Local Administration, which regulates local elections.

"Requirements for independent candidates should be more lenient... (because) such candidates lack a network of political parties," Syamsuddin said.

Aceh's law says an independent candidate must be supported by at least 3 percent of the total population, spread across at least half of the electoral territory. And the candidate's support must be proved through the collection of identity cards and written statements from constituents.

Party members however want indepedent candidates to have to gain the same – if not more – support as party-endorsed candidates.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction head in the House of Representatives, Tjahjo Kumolo, said politics should be based on the concept of fairness. "Why should independent candidates have less responsibility than party-endorsed ones... 15 percent of support should be the bar," he said.

Head of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction Mahfudz Siddiq said support of between 10 and 15 percent would pave a path for fair elections. But both Siddiq and Tjahjo said the stipulations in Aceh came to be via a different spirit of politics and should therefore not be used as a national reference point.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalatta, who was the head of the Golkar Party faction, said there should be equality for all candidates regardless of their candidacy. Andi said his ministry, which is in charge of drafting government-proposed bills, would wait for proposals from the House.

The House is scheduled to amend articles on the law on local administration to include the issue of independent candidates contesting local elections. House Speaker Agung Laksono said the draft should be completed before the end of the year.