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View all search resultsHouse factions suggest lower presidential threshold
House of Representatives factions are divided over the issue of the presidential nomination threshold as they deliberate a revision of the Elections Law.
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everal factions at the House of Representatives as well as political experts have suggested lowering or eliminating the vote threshold for political parties to nominate presidential candidates.
Article 222 of the 2017 Elections Law states that a political party or coalition of parties must have secured at least 20 percent of the seats at the House of Representatives or 25 percent of the popular vote in the 2014 elections to nominate a presidential candidate in the 2019 elections.
The same type of provision has been included in a draft dated May 6 to revise the Elections Law in preparation for the next elections.
The draft was prepared by House Commission II, which oversees home affairs, and the House Expertise Board.
During a hearing by the commission on Wednesday, some experts recommended a reduction of the threshold to facilitate more presidential candidates.
Political expert Valina Singka Subekti of the University of Indonesia questioned the draft for maintaining the threshold. She suggested that the House eliminate it altogether, as the Constitution only mandated that political parties endorse presidential and vice-presidential candidates, with no mention of a threshold.
“Indonesia has a presidential nomination threshold while many other democratic countries do not,” she said.
