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National scene: Jokowi signs election bill into law
A controversial election bill has been passed after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed it into law on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Johan Budi said on Saturday
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controversial election bill has been passed after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed it into law on Wednesday, presidential spokesperson Johan Budi said on Saturday.
“The election bill was officially signed on Aug. 16,” Johan said, adding that the bill has been registered as Law No. 7/2017.
The House of Representatives approved the bill during a protracted and heated plenary meeting on July 21 in which lawmakers of four political parties, rejecting the bill, walked out.
The Gerindra Party, the Democratic Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) demanded that the 20 percent presidential threshold be scrapped from the bill.
The threshold is the minimum popular vote a party or coalition of parties must have to nominate a presidential candidate.
Soon after the bill was endorsed, Crescent and Star Party (PBB) chairman Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Peaceful and Benign Islam (Idaman) Party chairman Rhoma Irama filed a judicial review with the Constitutional Court to challenge the law. The two parties do not have legislative seats.
The two claimed that their constitutional rights to run for president had been violated as a result of the bill.
