Indonesia: Election bill passed, presidential threshold intact – 21 Jul 2017

  • The House of Representatives approved late on 20 Jul 17 a long overdue election bill, which now only awaits the President’s signature to become law. The passed bill maintains a minimum requirement for political parties to nominate presidential candidates
  • Of all the items in the bill, nothing caused more bickering than the presidential threshold, the minimum percentages of support required by political parties to nominate presidential candidates.
  • The ruling coalition parties, including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party, the Nation Awakening Party (PKB), the National Development Party (PPP), the NasDem Party and the Hanura Party, chose to keep the 20% and 25% thresholds.
  • That means a presidential candidate would require support from a party or coalition of parties with at least 20% of the seats in the legislature or 25% of the popular vote based on the outcome of the 2014 legislative elections.
  • The opposition camp, the Gerindra Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), along with a neutral camp formed by the Democratic Party, demanded the presidential threshold be scrapped to allow an unlimited number of presidential candidates.
  • The opponents of the threshold were worried that if it was maintained, there would likely be only two presidential candidates with enough support to compete in the next election.

External Link : http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/07/21/election-bill-passed-presidential-threshold-intact.html

21-Jul-2017