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.