Simple majority for president: Researcher
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Political observer Rizal Mallarangeng called on the People's Consultative Assembly to adopt the simple majority principle to end the continuous debate on the second round of voting in the planned direct presidential elections.
According to him, the requirement that a presidential candidate must gain a single majority in the next direct elections was based on a wrong assumption.
"A candidate who wins a simple majority deserves the presidential position because it is very difficult for candidates to gain a single majority amid in the current multiparty system," he said.
Such a system had long been used in Australia, the United States and Britain where there was no need for the nation to conduct a second round of elections, he said.
Pataniari Siahaan, a senior legislator of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Chozim Chumaidy of the United Development Party and Asnawi Latief of the Ummat Awakening party (PKU) said their parties were ready to contest direct presidential elections regardless of the single or simple majorities.
The three, however, said that a single majority was needed to prove the president elect's legitimacy.
Rizal, also a researcher with the Center of Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), emphasized that a single round electoral system would not reduce the legitimacy of a president elect because his/her legitimacy would depend not on their ability to win the single majority but on their policies and the people's support.
"U.S. President Bill Clinton won 41 percent of votes. He was powerful because of clear regulations and strong support," Rizal added.
He was commenting on the snail's pace process of constitutional amendments, mainly on the presidential election.
Constitutional law experts have proposed that direct presidential elections be held after the general election to elect legislators in the parliament, in efforts to allow winning parties to name their presidential candidates in the direct presidential election.
Sri Sumantri, a professor of constitutional law at the Padjadjaran University in Bandung, said only parties winning the general election should be able to nominate their candidates in the presidential election.
"With such a system, there will be no necessity to conduct a second round," he told the Assembly recently.
Jimly Assidique from the University of Indonesia, was of the same opinion and said a presidential candidate was not required to gain a single majority to win the presidential election.
The Assembly endorsed last year an article on a direct presidential election. A presidential candidate, however, is required to gain 50 percent plus one of the total votes.
Factions at the Assembly have been at odds over a crucial issue on what should be done if presidential candidates fail to win a single majority.
"I am afraid a candidate elected in first round election fails to win the second vote due to the changing political coalition," Rizal said.
Pataniari, also a member of the Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee preparing amendments to the Constitution said that his PDI Perjuangan had no objection if the second round was conducted by the people, instead of the Assembly.
The PDI Perjuangan faction at the Ad Hoc Committee has proposed the second round to be completed by the Assembly, for unclear reasons.