Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Democratic Party on Friday eased up on its demand to double the legislative threshold to 5 percent, conceding that it would be content with 4 percent to appease smaller parties concerned about not making the cut.

The threshold is the minimum percentage of votes a party must receive in national elections to qualify for a seat at the House of Representatives. It does not apply in regional polls.

The four biggest parties at the House, including the Democrats, had backed calls for the threshold to be doubled from its current level of 2.5 percent.

Anas Urbaningrum, the Democratic chairman, said the threshold should motivate parties to work harder to win votes.

"We believe it should be raised, but not to 5 percent," he said. "We'll propose 4 percent, but we want it implemented both for the national legislative elections and for regional elections."

He said smaller parties had no reason to fear an increased threshold because of the likelihood of "major shifts at the time of the 2014 elections, where small parties might win because citizens' wishes are so dynamic."

However, he said not all members of his party agreed to the proposal, and hence the Democrats' final stance was still open to change.

The party previously indicated it would be happy with a threshold of less than 5 percent, which it said was "just a ceiling figure."

"We'll gladly settle for a lower figure, just as long as it's higher than the current 2.5 percent," Saan Mustopha, deputy secretary general of the party, said in August.

However, Hakam Naja, from the National Mandate Party (PAN), said on Friday that any proposal for an increase in the threshold should be carefully considered because it was likely to shut out smaller parties from the political stage.

He added it was too soon to raise the threshold, arguing that smaller parties needed time to consolidate and grow. "We think it's better to do it step by step," Hakam said.

Roy B.B. Janis, chairman of the Democratic Renewal Party (PDP), which is not represented at the House, said all small parties opposed any increase in the threshold because it would be unconstitutional.

"[The debate shouldn't be] about chiseling it down from 5 percent to 4 percent," he said. "The threshold goes against democracy and the Constitution. With this requirement, minorities would no longer have the right to participate in the political process."

Roy said that with the threshold in place for last year's elections, millions of votes already went to waste.

He cited the Christian-based Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), which notched up more than 1.5 million votes nationwide but was denied representation at the House because it failed to meet the threshold.

"It's unfair and it's killing the minorities," Roy said. "There's a hidden purpose behind the election bill, which is being employed to strengthen the tyranny of the majority, allowing only the majority and the rich to get a House seat."