Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Changing electoral laws to allow non-party candidates to run could lead to a greater voter turnout in regional elections, a political observer said Thursday.
"The Aceh gubernatorial election, which had local independent candidates, had a voter turnout of 77 percent," Indra J. Piliang, a political observer from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies told a seminar on the issue.
"Meanwhile in Jakarta, which did not have independent candidates in its Aug. 8 gubernatorial election, voter turnout only reached 50 percent."
According to Indra, voter turnout has been decreasing in many regions since June 2005. "More people would come to polling stations if they knew that they could vote for candidates who promised to implement (their) personal or local values," he said.
"People would become more enthusiastic about politics," Indra said. "Independent candidates could also bring unprecedented demands, such as expanding the rights of homosexuals, lesbians or maybe animal rights," he added.
The Constitutional Court issued a ruling on July 23 allowing citizens not endorsed by parties to contest local elections as independent candidates, annulling several articles in the 2004 Regional Autonomy Law.
It is expected that amendments to the current regional autonomy law – itself an amended version of the original 1999 law – could be passed by the end of this year.
Currently, Aceh is the only province where independent candidates are allowed to run in local elections, thanks to the 2006 Aceh Autonomy Law.
Indra said that in Aceh the 3 percent electoral support threshold required to register an independent candidacy – which is proven by providing copies of supporters' ID cards – was still difficult to get. "In the Aceh election, many independent candidates failed to meet the electoral threshold."
Chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction at the House of Representatives, Effendi Choirie, said the Aceh example was not a good argument in favor of Indra's voter turnout claim. "Aceh's political situation is different, so it cannot be compared to other areas," he said.
Effendi said both candidates endorsed by parties and independents should have to face an equally difficulty electoral threshold. "This is to assure fairness," he said.
Effendi said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should issue a ruling to regulate the participation of independent candidates in regional elections and in order to avoid any future uproars.
Chairman of the Constitutional Court Jimly Asshiddiqie said the court's ruling on independent candidates could be applied as soon as January 2008 in 14 provinces, regencies and municipalities.
Among the provinces allowed to have independent candidates in local elections are East Kalimantan, Maluku and West Nusa Tenggara.