Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The House of Representatives unanimously passed the presidential election bill Wednesday, bringing an end to a heated debate over the minimum support a party must win to nominate a presidential candidate.
The newly enacted law requires a party or coalition of parties to win a minimum 20 percent of House seats or 25 percent of popular votes to be eligible to nominate a candidate.
Most of the 10 House factions had agreed with the proposed thresholds during a preceding plenary session, although the National Mandate Party (PAN) insisted until the dying minutes that the House seat threshold be set at 15 percent.
"All factions have wisely decided to avoid voting to prioritize the nation's interests," Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, chairman of the House's committee deliberating the bill, told the plenary session.
Home Minister Mardiyanto, State Secretary Hatta Radjasa and Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Mattalata attended the meeting to represent the government.
The factions also agreed to scrap an article in the bill forbidding the elected president and vice president from retaining executive political party posts.
The PAN, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) had voiced their support for the bill until the last.
Political observers said the agreed threshold meant President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would be unable to run for reelection with only the backing of his Democratic Party, which occupies 57 of the total 550 seats at the House, forcing him to form a coalition with other parties.
Analysts said the new law meant the political advantage now lay with the Golkar Party and its chairman Jusuf Kalla, as well as the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and its presidential candidate Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Yudhi Latief, executive director of the Reform Institute, said the incumbent President would desperately need the support of Golkar to secure his candidacy as the rising PKS had distanced itself from Yudhoyono and the PKB was unlikely to win many seats in next year's legislative elections.
"That's why Yudhoyono hinted earlier he would run with Kalla again. But it has created tension among many Golkar cadres who want to have their own presidential candidate," Yudhi added.
Indo Barometer executive director Muhammad Qodari said it would become complicated for Yudhoyono if Golkar decided to nominate its own presidential candidate, forcing him to seek support from many smaller parties and thus compromise on his political stance.
"I think there will be only three candidates with the (new) threshold: Yudhoyono, Megawati and an alternative hopeful that could either be Sri Sultan (Hamengkubuwono X), Wiranto or Prabowo," he said.