Government moves to limit number of political parties
Government moves to limit number of political parties
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government dispelled public fears on Monday over the number
of political parties participating in the 2004 general election,
saying that all parties would undergo a strict screening process
before they were allowed to contest in the event held once every
five years.
"There are various new political parties that have so far
registered with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, but the
ministry will conduct a series of investigations to decide on
whether or not these parties will qualify," Minister of Home
Affairs Hari Sabarno said during a hearing with the House of
Representatives (DPR) special commission deliberating the general
election bill.
Over 200 political parties have registered with the justice
and human rights minister and have expressed their readiness to
contest the 2004 general election.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri said in her speech on Aug. 16
that the presence of so many parties had made it difficult for
them to develop into strong parties and support the government's
performance effectively.
Hari said not every (political) party that had registered at
the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights would automatically be
allowed to contest the 2004 general election.
Hari said that the election law passed in 1999 stipulated that
parties failing to reach the two percent electoral threshold
would be barred from joining the elections in 2004.
Only six of the 48 political parties participating in the 1999
general election qualified to contest the next ballot as "by law,
they passed the requirement of meeting the two percent threshold
of the vote," he said.
The six parties are the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the Golkar Party, the United
Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the
National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB).
Politicians of the five biggest parties in the country had
earlier demanded to restrict the number of political parties to
contest the election, considering the fact that the multiparty
system was not suitable to be adopted in the direct presidential
election system.
In the proposed election bill, the government has suggested
that political parties wishing to contest the 2009 general
election have to reach a three percent threshold of the vote.
On Monday, the government also proposed to adopt an open
proportional system and district system to elect members of the
House of Representatives and Regional Representatives Council
(DPD) respectively in the 2004 general election.