0 As polls near, Gerindra intensifies call for lower threshold

The Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) is proving relentless in its call for a lower threshold for the presidential nomination as stipulated in Law No. 42/2009 on presidential elections, despite persistent rejections from the major parties at the House of Representatives. Leaders from the Gerindra faction at the House told a discussion recently that the refusal to revise the current threshold of 20 percent of seats in the House or 25 percent of the popular vote would be disadvantageous to the country as it would block the presidential ticket of Gerindra’s chairman, Prabowo Subianto. 

“Prabowo is the most promising figure in the 2014 [presidential election]. He is a decisive and firm leader, the opposite to what we have now,” Gerindra deputy secretary-general Martin Hutabarat said. Martin stressed that Prabowo’s growing popularity, especially with the grass roots, reflected the type of leader that Indonesia needed in the future. Meanwhile, Gerindra secretary-general Ahmad Muzani said a high threshold was unconstitutional as the 1945 Constitution did not require a specific number of parties to nominate presidential candidates. “I, therefore, believe that it’s better for us to stick to the Constitution. 

It only says that a presidential candidate is nominated by a party or a coalition of parties. Setting a certain threshold will likely encourage parties to gang up to fight for their common interests,” Muzani said. Politicians from the major House factions, including the Democratic Party, the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), had previously expressed their preference for the existing threshold, arguing that it was a reasonable level for candidates wishing to run in the presidential election. 

Some have argued that a higher presidential threshold would limit the number of candidates contesting the upcoming presidential election, and be helpful for voters in making their choices. However, others dismiss such opinions and back Gerindra’s proposal, saying that a lower threshold would allow small parties to nominate their own presidential candidates and offer more alternatives to the race. Soegeng Sarjadi of the Soegeng Sarjadi Syndicate (SSS) said that the debate over the threshold had divided political parties into gangs. 

“Major parties should not make such a decision just because they are the big parties. We must revise the existing law for the sake of justice for all,” Sarjadi said, adding that a revision to the threshold would provide alternative figures in the run up to the election. Separately, citing Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mahfud MD, former chief justice Jimly Asshidiq said that the current threshold was open to judicial review although it had been challenged previously. “We can challenge again the same regulation with the Constitutional Court if we can provide different arguments than those already used. It’s up to the justices later as to how to respond to the challenge,” Jimly said.

source : the jakarta post