Jakarta – Indonesians say they want five political parties to vie in the next general election to make the voting process simpler, a recent survey says.
According to the survey, which was conducted by the Indonesian Survey Institute from September to October, 73.8 percent of Indonesians said there were too many parties, with many educated urbanites wanting fewer.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents said five was the maximum number of acceptable political parties. Thirty-four parties ran in the 2009 legislative elections, and nine parties won seats in the 560-seat House of Representatives.
According to a consultant involved in the survey, Barkah Pattimahu, people wanted fewer parties after they voted in confusing presidential, general and regional elections.
Ideologies often overlap amid the clutter of parties and a motley crew of candidates whom voters found difficult to differentiate and identify, he added. The survey also said that 82.4 percent of respondents would support a system that limits the number of parties.
"But they want the limits enacted in a legal, democratic way," Barkah said. He added that the government should not duplicate former president Suharto's forceful consolidation of parties.
The survey said that 68.9 percent of respondents wanted stricter party establishment requirements, with a majority opting for a 5 percent parliamentary threshold.
The threshold is currently 2.5 percent although legislators are debating raising the limit. "If a 5 percent parliamentary threshold were implemented, only five parties could send their representatives to the legislature," Barkah added.
The survey showed those parties would be the Democratic Party, the Golkar Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Legislator Syarifudin Suding from the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) told The Jakarta Post that his party would be ready if the House decided to raise the threshold. "It's fine if that's what the public truly wants," he said, adding that his party held nearly 3 percent of House seats. (gzl)