Small parties may field presidential candidates<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The debate on which political parties can field candidates in the
\n2004 presidential election may soon come to an end as most
\nfactions in the House have suggested that parties winning three
\npercent of the seats in the House should be able to join the
\nrace.<\/p>\n
All factions except Golkar have reached a common understanding
\nthat more parties should participate in the elections in 2004,
\nwhen the country is expected to organize the first ever direct
\npresidential election.<\/p>\n
Golkar, which served as the political vehicle of former
\npresident Soeharto for more than three decades, insisted that
\nonly parties that garnered at least 20 percent of the votes in
\nthe House, as proposed by the government, should be allowed to
\ncontest the presidential election.<\/p>\n
The factions also agreed that the legislative and presidential
\nelections be held separately, but have still to decide on the
\ninterval between the two elections.<\/p>\n
\"We have not agreed on whether the presidential election will
\nbe held three months, two months or one month after the
\nlegislative election,\" said Barlianta Harahap, chairman of the
\nUnited Development Party (PPP) faction here on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The General Elections Commission (KPU) had scheduled the
\nlegislative election for April 5, 2004, and the presidential
\nelection between June and August.<\/p>\n
Previously, the PDI Perjuangan and Golkar factions supported
\nthe government's idea of adopting a 20 percent threshold.<\/p>\n
The PDI Perjuangan and Golkar, which collected 153 and 120
\nseats respectively in the 1999 elections, were the only two
\nparties that met the 20 percent quota.<\/p>\n
The smaller factions rejected the stipulation and tried to
\nblock it by demanding that the elections for the president and
\nlegislative members be held simultaneously to avoid the
\nthreshold.<\/p>\n
Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno had repeatedly said that
\nthe stipulation allowing only those political parties winning at
\nleast 20 percent of the seats in the House was designed to ensure
\nthat the elected president had sufficient support in the
\nlegislature.<\/p>\n
This, the minister said, would ensure a stable government in
\norder to lead the country out of the current economic crisis.<\/p>\n
With the acceptance by the factions of separate elections, it
\nis likely that the three percent threshold will be accepted.<\/p>\n
Effendi Choirie of the National Awakening Party (PKB) revealed
\nthat most factions had agreed to adopt a three percent threshold
\nfor political parties in nominating presidential candidates.<\/p>\n
Choirie emphasized, however, that the factions could not reach
\na consensus on the requirements for a figure to be nominated as a
\npresident candidate.<\/p>\n
The Golkar and Reform factions insisted that a presidential
\ncandidate must have at least a university degree, but PDI
\nPerjuangan rejected the clause, apparently because its chairwoman
\nMegawati has only a senior high school certificate.<\/p>\n
The PDI Perjuangan faction meanwhile defended a clause that a
\ncriminal suspect, let alone a person convicted of a crime, must
\nnot be allowed to contest the election.<\/p>\n
Golkar, headed by veteran politician Akbar Tandjung, who had
\nbeen sentenced to three years in jail for corruption, rejected
\nthe clause.<\/p>\n
\"Basically, all factions are negotiating with each other to
\nsettle the arguments,\" Barlianta told The Jakarta Post on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Faction leaders had conducted negotiations twice at the
\nHorison Hotel and Hilton Hotel in Jakarta. The negotiation
\nsettled some contentious issues, but others remain unsolved.<\/p>\n
Barlianta said the leaders of political parties would
\nintervene should faction leaders fail to settle the problems.<\/p>\n
He added that the legislators hoped to bring the presidential
\nelection bill to a plenary session on July 7 for endorsement.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/small-parties-may-field-presidential-candidates-1447893297",
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