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s the clock ticks and political elites push for a deal in last-ditch negotiations over requirements to field a presidential candidate in the 2019 race, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who is likely to seek reelection, appealed to retain a high presidential threshold.

The presidential threshold, which is the minimum percentage of the vote a party or coalition of parties needs in the legislative election to nominate a presidential candidate, is one of the five crucial issues in the protracted election bill deliberation that have yet to be settled.

“The development of our political system must be consistent in striving for simplification. If previously, we set [the threshold] at 20 percent, why should we go back to zero?” Jokowi told reporters on the sidelines of a work trip to Semarang, Central Java, on Saturday evening.

“We must be consistent,” Jokowi added, arguing that consistency on the matter would simplify the matter for political parties and the election process.

Jokowi’s statement surprised many, not only because it was the first time Jokowi had commented on the matter but also because his statement was made only two days before the House of Representatives’ special committee on the bill was expected to decide the fate of the five issues.

The committee will hold a final meeting on Monday to settle the five issues or, if they fail to reach an agreement, will decide whether to bring the matter to a plenary meeting for a vote. The bill will regulate the upcoming first simultaneous legislative and presidential elections in 2019.

Head of the committee, PKB politician Lukman Edy, said the team aimed to reach a consensus during Monday’s meeting to avoid holding a vote during a plenary session.

The four other issues of the bill are the electoral system — whether it should remain an open list or be changed to a closed system; the electoral threshold, which will determine the votes required of parties to secure legislative seats; the number of seats in each electoral district; and the method of converting votes to seats.

Jokowi suggested that maintaining such a high presidential threshold, such as the one implemented in the 2014 race that saw him winning, would “simplify” Indonesia’s political system.

Jokowi has yet to comment on whether he will seek reelection, but the Golkar Party, the NasDem Party and the Hanura Party have declared they will back Jokowi’s reelection bid.

The committee missed the target to finalize the deliberation earlier this year on account of prolonged discussion centering on the five issues.

The presidential threshold in particular has been viewed as the major cause of the delay because factions have used it as a key instrument to leverage their bargaining positions in regard with other crucial issues in the bill or even other political interests.

The government’s proposal of a high presidential threshold is supported by only three members of its coalition — the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), as well as Golkar and NasDem. Other coalition members, including the United Development Party (PKB), the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Hanura Party, have differed between zero and up to 15 percent. They have shared the same stance with opposition parties — the Gerindra Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) — and the Democratic Party, which prefers to identify itself as a “neutral” party.

“We are open to discuss the President’s wish [to maintain a high threshold],” chief of the PKB faction at the House, Ida Fauziah, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday. “We have plenty of time to achieve a consensus.”

The prolonged deadlock has raised criticism from political observers, who slammed parties for only prioritizing their own interests.

“The discussion does not directly relate to us, the public, because parties aim only to secure the interests of their elites. Parties must reform themselves to be able to actually translate aspirations to policies that serve the people,” senior analyst from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), J. Kristiadi, said.