Democrat Party Responds to Presidential Candidate Limitation Scenario Issue

Sekretaris Jenderal (Sekjen) Partai Demokrat Herman Khaeron claimed he knew nothing about the issue of a scenario to limit presidential and vice-presidential candidacy through the Election Bill. He stressed that the Democratic Party has never discussed the discourse on limiting candidacy in the Election Bill, as the party has not officially conducted any deliberations on the matter. “The Democratic Party has never discussed that, because there has been no discussion. That is an opinion that has been built up. Even though people may always refer to Mr Benny, please ask Mr Benny what his source is,” Herman said after a party event in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday (8/7). He confirmed that the party does not know the source of Benny’s writing or its purpose. Herman reminded all parties to wait for the official process in the DPR. He noted that various opinions can emerge during the drafting of a law, but the public should not treat them as certainties because the official discussion on the Election Bill has not yet begun. “So I think it is common in political discussions for various opinions to emerge, but do not let this become a certainty because we have not discussed anything at all to this day,” Herman said. Nevertheless, Herman stated that the Democratic Party is pushing for the bill to be discussed as soon as possible. He said the deliberation must have a long and broad space to absorb aspirations from all parties. “We should not rush into a decision. But if the collective decision of the DPR is to discuss it in early 2027, then that is a political reality we must follow together,” he said. Previously, Deputy Chairman Benny K Harman raised the issue of a scenario to limit presidential and vice-presidential candidacy in the Election Bill through an opinion piece in a national newspaper on 21 June. He suggested that if the scenario is true, a presidential and vice-presidential pair could only be nominated by a minimum of three parliamentary parties. The scenario drew criticism because it could potentially contradict the Constitutional Court’s decision that abolished the presidential nomination threshold. “There is a strong indication that the upcoming election regulation is deliberately designed to limit the people’s right to choose the highest leader in this country,” Benny wrote. “One of the most dangerous discourses being floated is the limitation of presidential and vice-presidential candidates, where only candidate pairs supported by at least three parliamentary parties would be allowed to compete,” he added. He described the article as a wake-up call for the public to monitor the bill. He expressed concern about a hidden agenda in the deliberation process of the Election Bill, particularly the potential for the bill to be discussed suddenly to avoid a judicial review by the Constitutional Court. “So there is no excuse, no time, no opportunity for the people to file a judicial review and for the Constitutional Court to have no time to examine and annul it,” he said.