Election Observer: Better To Remove Presidential Threshold Than Cut Campaign Duration

JAKARTA - Member of the Board of Trustees of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) Titi Anggraini is of the view that it would be wiser if the Government removed the presidential nomination threshold or presidential threshold compared to shortening the duration of the campaign.

She made this statement when giving a presentation at a national seminar entitled, "The 2024 Campaign Period is Shortened: Who Profits, Who Loses?" which is broadcast on the Initiative Code YouTube channel,

"The choice to remove the presidential nomination threshold is wiser to take in order to reduce the potential and residue of division in society," Titi said, Friday, February 4.

"This campaign period is actually just downstream. There is an upstream that is more strategic for lawmakers and decision-makers to take breakthrough steps," she continued.

If the decision-makers shorten the campaign period, then towards the election campaign period, the KPU and the Government must facilitate the socialization of the election in a balanced way so that campaigns do not occur outside the schedule.

Scientifically, Titi continued, the shorter the duration of the campaign period, the greater the tendency for election participants and legislative candidates to campaign outside of the schedule.

"Are we and the election supervisors ready for this risk?" she said.

Therefore, for Titi, it would be better for election administrators to concentrate on preparing better, easier, and simpler election practices to avoid disintegrative polarization by removing the threshold for presidential candidacy.

"That space (removal of the presidential nomination threshold, ed.) is actually more logical than talking downstream about the campaign period, which has also been offered by the KPU, which is much shorter than the 2019 general election and previous elections," said Titi.

Previously, the KPU had offered a campaign duration for the 2024 election, which was 120 days. The duration is much shorter than the 2009 legislative election campaign (9 months), 2014 legislative election (15 months), and 2019 Simultaneous Election (6 months).

The threat of disintegrative polarization which is feared to occur as an excess of the campaign period demands the responsibility of political parties and elites to prevent it by consistently carrying out election campaign activities as part of responsible public political education.

"If we talk about the excesses of the black campaign, the opponent should be a campaign in the form of responsible political education. This can come with full commitment and responsibility from political parties and their elites," she concluded.