Markus Junianto Sihaloho – For Indonesian lawmakers returning from Idul Fitri recess next week, two deadlocked election-related bills occupy spots high on the agenda.

But legislators seemed pessimistic on Friday that deliberation on the bills would finish any time soon.

Activists and analysts have long been pressing the House of Representatives to expedite work on the election bill and the election organizers bill, which they say are urgently needed to properly prepare for the 2014 general elections.

But Golkar Party lawmaker Nurul Arifin said on Friday it would be impossible to finish the election bill's deliberation as expected this month given House factions' refusal to compromise.

"After Idul Fitri, the House leadership will establish a special commission related to the bill deliberation. I hope it can help us to settle the differences," Nurul said.

In the election organizer bill, parties are deadlocked over the inclusion of a clause that would allow party members to be appointed to the election organizing board.

Contentious issues in the election bill include the plan to double to 5 percent the legislative threshold, which is the minimum number of votes a party must receive in an election in order to be represented in the House, and on reducing the number of seats contested in each constituency.

Anas Urbaningrum, general chairman of the Democratic Party, acknowledged the difficulty in establishing common ground among political parties, especially with legislation concerning rules about the parties themselves.

"Even among members of the ruling coalition, the negotiation process is not always easy," Anas said. "I am pushing the Democratic Party faction in the House of Representatives to have more intensive talks with other factions to find a rational agreement on some issues."

Anas stressed the importance of taking a rational approach and reaching a fair decision. "After each faction compromises with each other, the result must be announced publicly," Anas said.

Political analyst Ray Rangkuti, director of the Indonesian Civic Network (LIMA), put the blame squarely on big parties, including Golkar, the Democratic Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which he said seemed unwilling to compromise.

Those parties, he said, have refused to budge on the 5 percent legislative threshold issue, when an increase would be of greater significance to smaller counterparts.

Smaller parties, including the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the People's Conscience Party (Hanura), have already agreed to a 3 percent threshold.

"The big parties talk and talk about accelerating the legislative process, but they need to think about the deliberation process as well," Rangkuti said. "The key to settling the deadlock is getting the big parties to accommodate the smaller parties' wishes."