Objections up against limited candidacy
Objections up against limited candidacy
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Opposition has increased against limiting the number of political
parties eligible to field candidates in 2004 for Indonesia's
first direct presidential election.
Lecturers from Jakarta-based University of Indonesia (UI) and
Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University (UGM) said here on Monday
that limiting the number of candidates would undermine the
purpose of a direct presidential election system.
The draft presidential election bill, now being deliberated by
members of the House of Representatives (DPR), stipulates that
only parties or coalitions that have gained at least 20 percent
of legislative seats would be allowed to field presidential
candidates.
"All political parties must be given equal opportunity.
Requirements for the presidential candidacy must not be based on
percentage (of votes)," UGM rector Sofjan Effendi said on Monday
at a hearing with the House special committee deliberating the
bill.
Fajrul Falaakh, also from UGM, emphasized that presidential
elections should be open to all political parties.
Lecturers from UI did not specifically reject the 20 percent
legislative seats required for political parties to be eligible
to contest in the presidential election, but suggested that
lawmakers take the newly amended 1945 Constitution as their main
reference.
"Such a stipulation is not mentioned in the 1945
Constitution," said UI rector Usman Chatib Warsa.
The government, which drafted the presidential election bill,
has sought to limit the number of political parties participating
in the elections in order to have a strong, legitimate
government.
Researchers from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)
and minor political parties have also expressed their objection
against the restriction.
About 230 political parties have registered with the Ministry
of Justice and Human Rights and have vowed to participate in the
two-phase presidential election next year.
Some analysts have expressed a concern that it might be
difficult for any political party to gather enough votes to form
a strong government, if all political parties were allowed to
contest in the election.
This concern, however, has been dismissed by other analysts as
the constitution allows a second round in the election, in which
the parties that have gained the two highest number of votes in
the first round can contest.
Speculations are rife that the insertion of a 20-percent quota
was an attempt by major parties to retain their power.
All but the two biggest factions in DPR -- the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the combined
Golkar and military/police faction -- have clearly rejected the
restriction.
PDI Perjuangan and Golkar, with 153 and 120 seats in the
House respectively, were the only parties that had more than 20
percent of the seats.
During the hearing, experts from UI wanted the presidential
and general elections be organized sequentially, saying that
separate elections would help voters concentrate on a single
electoral process at a time.
Fajrul, however, said it would be irrational for a poverty-
stricken country like Indonesia to have too many elections, and
suggested that the presidential and general elections be held
simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Sofjan Effendi emphasized that the presidential
candidates needed to have the vision and the courage to take
unconventional measures in bringing the country out of the
prolonged multidimensional crisis, and thus, that the educational
background of the candidates was critical.
The rector also disclosed that his Yogyakarta-based university
would welcome any presidential candidate to campaign on campus.
He added that any candidate had to be ready to present their
programs before both students and academicians, and should be
prepared to debate with other candidates.
The most important point, he said, was that no candidate must
bring their cadres to the debate.