DPD: 20 Percent Presidential Threshold Harming Political Parties

JAKARTA - The Regional Representative Council (DPD) has also submitted a judicial review to the Constitutional Court (MK) regarding the provisions on the threshold for presidential and vice presidential candidacy as regulated in Article 222 of the Election Law 17 of 2017.

Deputy Chairman of the DPD, Sultan B Najamudin, urged a revision of the Election Law regarding the 20 percent presidential threshold (PT), because it is no longer relevant to the current spirit of democracy.

"It is true that the constitution requires political parties as political vehicles for presidential candidates, but political parties cannot claim to be the best and most meritorious parties in building democracy," Sultan said to reporters, Friday, December 17.

According to the former Deputy Governor of Bengkulu, the 20 percent presidential threshold is a form of political discrimination against certain political parties. It also negates the enormous demographic reality of Indonesia.

"It's not fair if the people of 270 million people are only presented with two choices of presidential candidates which are the result of an elite political scenario and political parties are also the aggrieved parties with this provision," said Sultan.

Instead, said Sultan, political parties should be the ones who are most disadvantaged by this provision. Because each party certainly has a different vision and political platform.

"However, because parties tend to be pragmatic and not ideological, this has become commonplace. Thus, political parties have lost their role in producing candidate leaders," he said.

If there is, he continued, then the presidential candidates are just that. Political parties fail to regenerate the nation's leadership cells, along with their political education tasks for the community.

“Because political parties prefer to form a coalition with the government, as a result our democratic landscape has become dry. The proof is that Indonesia's democracy index since 2020 has been at its lowest point since the reformation. Even our democracy index lost to Timor Leste," he said.

The Bengkulu senator said that political parties that should produce politicians who are ideal for democracy are actually seeking safety in the power space. In fact, said Sultan, the general chairman of the party is willing to become an assistant to the president.

"As a result, our democracy seems to only give birth to politicians, not statesmen," he criticized.

Sultan considered that the experience of the last two presidential elections should be used as a valuable lesson for the Indonesian people. Because, with such a high threshold, political parties are only affiliated in the two major coalition axes.

"That's where the oligarchs with their capital strength play, then influence the election results and the next government's political policies," said Sultan.

So, according to him, elections are merely a formality of democracy. Not providing an ideal national leadership solution and in accordance with the needs of the community, but a leader according to the will of the oligarchy.

Therefore, the Sultan considered that Indonesia should be able to celebrate democracy more variedly and voluntarily in determining its political choices. According to him, the more choices, the better and more competitive the selection process in democracy will be.

"The 20 percent threshold has actually been the cause of the nation's socio-political segregation. So why are we defending it?," said the Sultan.