Simple majority for president: Researcher

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.