Discourse Emerges for Presidential Candidates to Require Support from at Least Two Parliamentary Factions, PDIP Unfazed
The Chairman of the PDI Perjuangan Central Executive Board, Deddy Sitorus, has responded to statements made by NasDem Party Chairman Surya Paloh regarding a proposed presidential threshold model, which suggests that presidential candidates must be supported by at least two factions in the House of Representatives (DPR). PDIP stated that they have no issue with the discourse regarding support from two factions.
“Let us just wait for the academic paper. At this stage, everything is still merely discourse; it is too early to respond,” Deddy told reporters on Sunday (20/09/2026).
Deddy stated that his party does not mind because Indonesia adheres to a presidential system. He noted that a presidential candidate without support from parties in parliament would face difficulties in governing.
“In my view, from a practical standpoint, establishing a requirement for two supporting parties is not a problem. Because our country adopts a presidential system, a presidential candidate without support from parties in parliament will struggle to run the wheels of government,” he said.
Deddy also touched upon the legal mandate stating that election participants are political parties. He argued that such a proposal would minimise the number of presidential candidates, which could potentially open doors to conflict during the campaign process.
“Furthermore, the existing Law still states that election participants are political parties. This could also reduce the number of candidates, which would prevent an unlimited number of independent candidates that would lead to massive state expenditure and potentially create space for conflict during the campaign process,” he added.
The member of Commission II of the DPR RI requested the public to wait, noting that they are still awaiting the academic paper and the draft revision of the Election Law.
“Whatever it is, let us just wait for the academic paper and the draft revision of the Law,” Deddy added.
It is known that Surya Paloh admitted to hearing input regarding the presidential threshold. Paloh mentioned that the input he heard pertained to a model where presidential candidate pairs would require support from at least two factions in the DPR.
“I have heard clear input that the change in the model of support for the president would be based on a minimum of two factions,” Paloh told reporters at NasDem Tower, Gondangdia, Central Jakarta, on Saturday (19/09).
He assessed that this input is similar to the presidential threshold regulations prior to the changes made by the Constitutional Court (MK). However, he stated that he has no issue with the proposal.
“In my opinion, it is good; it is essentially the same. If the parliamentary threshold is high, then two factions would also represent a high number of votes,” Paloh revealed.