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PSI hit but not knocked out as it looks to new round in 2024
Amid the brouhaha in the aftermath of Indonesia’s first-ever simultaneous legislative and presidential elections, one thing is almost certain: The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) will not get into the 2019-2024 House of Representatives
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span>Amid the brouhaha in the aftermath of Indonesia’s first-ever simultaneous legislative and presidential elections, one thing is almost certain: The Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) will not get into the 2019-2024 House of Representatives.
According to most quick counts, the newcomer, which has billed itself as a party for millennials and has a strong social media presence, gained around 2 percent of the vote, short of the 4 percent needed to obtain seats in the House.
In a statement issued a few hours after polls closed on election day, PSI chairwoman Grace Natalie acknowledged that the party had failed to meet the legislative threshold and thanked supporters, vowing that the party would remain active in Indonesian politics.
“We shall return, soon!” she said.
PSI spokesman and legislative hopeful Dedek Prayudi said that, while the party would evaluate what went wrong in its campaign for the national legislature, it would not compromise on its values.
“What is certain is that we will not move from what we consider to be the ideal,” he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Since the start of the campaign period last September, the party has been outspoken on issues regarding religious tolerance and minority rights.
In November, Grace declared that the party was against religion-based regional bylaws, which are widely popular among Indonesian Muslims. In December, the party announced that it would ban its members from practicing polygamy, which many conservative Muslims consider to be permitted in Islam.
The PSI has also often criticized members of the current House and unveiled an initiative called “Bersih-Bersih DPR” (Cleaning Up the House), which aimed to require House members to submit expense reports for their work visits and related activities.
The party’s moves have sometimes irritated more established members of the coalition supporting President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, particularly fellow nationalist parties like the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party.
The PDI-P has even gone so far as to accuse the PSI of trying to “steal” its votes.
In the end, while the PSI failed to pass the crucial 4 percent threshold, it did manage to sway some voters from more established nationalist parties, especially those who live in urban centers or overseas.
In Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, for example, vote tallies show that the PSI received more than 35 percent of the vote, putting it in the top spot, above the PDI-P. In Singapore, meanwhile, the party obtained around 21 percent of the vote, placing it second behind the PDI-P’s 42 percent.
Jonathan Peter, a 25-year-old PhD student at the University of Melbourne, said he had voted for the PDI-P in 2014 but switched allegiance because the PSI was “very vocal on topics regarding human rights and tolerance that the PDI-P has been very quiet about”.
He added that he did not regret voting for the PSI despite the party’s failure to get into the House.
“I don’t consider it a wasted vote, because it sends a message to parties like the PDI-P that we’re not going to stand for regressive policies,” he told the Post.
Putra Muskita, a 28-year-old tech company employee based in Singapore, who also voted for the PSI, echoed Jonathan’s comment.
“I think it’s encouraging to see them get that amount of support considering how new they are,” he said. “It helps to just get their message out, and this could be a good starting point for the future.”
It was not only overseas voters who cast ballots for the PSI; early vote counts indicate that the party is likely to get seats in the regional legislative councils (DPRDs) of several big cities, including Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya.
“I think the PSI has done quite well for a new party,” 53-year-old Bandung resident and PSI voter Gangsar Sukrisno said. “For 2024, I hope they can work on programs and issues that appeal to lower-income voters, not only middle- and upper-class ones.”
Dedek said the party would look into how to convey its message to less metropolitan voters.
“We will also work on building a base on which to make more emotional arguments, not just rational ones,” he said.
