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Open-limited system in election bill criticized by experts
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Cast your vote: Election officials visit a patient at Pertamina General Hospital during the Jakarta gubernatorial runoff election on April 19. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
Experts have criticized the open-limited system introduced into an election bill by the House of Representatives.
They claim the system is complicated and might bring about more obstacles instead of solving the problems caused by the open-list system, which was implemented in Indonesia’s previous elections.
Proposed by the government, the open-list system allows voters to receive information about candidates they will vote for. However, it is political parties that have the sole authority to determine the candidates who will fill the House seats, regardless of the number of votes they obtain.
The open-list system was implemented in the 2009 and 2014 legislative elections. The system drew sharp criticisms as it was thought to be prone to vote buying practices.
(Read also: House to deliberate on three key issues before passing election bill)
Research from the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) claims that in 193 cases in the 2014 legislative election, candidates who were not placed in the first ranks on ballot papers received a high number of votes during the poll day.
“If we apply an open-limited system, those candidates will not get a House seat because their parties will pick candidates placed in the first ranks,” Perludem researcher Khoirunnisa Agustyati said in Jakarta on Friday.
Former General Elections Commission (KPU) commissioner Hadar Nafis Gumay said the open-limited system would undermine the principles of democracy.
“In the open-limited system, the value of votes is unequal. Votes that go to candidates will be worth less [...] because in the end, it is the parties that will have the authority to control who is going to sit in the House,” he said. (dis/ebf)
