Oesman Sapta reiterates position on GKSR

Jakarta — The Chairman of the General Movement for the Sovereignty of the People’s Voice (GKSR), Oesman Sapta Odang (OSO), has emphasised that GKSR is a constitutional movement that champions inclusive democracy. ‘Friends, I need to explain that GKSR is a constitutional movement. GKSR is not an anti-system movement, but pro-constitution,’ OSO said at the opening of the Parliamentary Threshold Seminar organised by GKSR in Jakarta on Tuesday (3 March).

One of GKSR’s main agendas is to lower the parliamentary threshold (PT). GKSR argues that millions of votes are wasted and not converted into parliamentary seats in the 2024 elections because of the four-percent threshold in force at that time.

OSO, who is also the chairman of the Hanura Party, emphasised that GKSR exists with the aim of guarding sovereignty and the people’s voices as mandated by the 1945 Constitution. He also stated that GKSR aims to safeguard Indonesia’s democratic future and ensure that no people’s voices are wasted.

‘When millions of people’s voices are lost because of the threshold, then what is lost is not only seats, but citizens’ constitutional rights,’ OSO said. OSO also reminded that wasted votes have a negative impact on the permanence of democracy.

‘History shows democracy does not collapse because there are too many voices, but because too many voices are ignored. If democracy is to be strong, the people must be heard, not filtered,’ he said.

Through the national seminar, he hopes to produce concrete recommendations for improving the democratic system and the elections so that they remain inclusive and reflect the diversity of the people’s political choices.