Hasto Kristiyanto: Determining the Threshold of the Parliament through Dialogue and Study

JAKARTA - Secretary General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) Hasto Kristiyanto said that the determination of the ideal number of parliamentary thresholds (parliamentary threshold) was carried out through a dialogue mechanism with other political parties, including non-parliamentary parties, and was based on in-depth studies.

"How many ideal numbers, it will be built through the political process and studies, considering the era of reform has produced several elections so that people's preferences for political parties should be more solid," said Hasto in Jakarta, Sunday.

He explained that each political party has its own interests related to the proposed parliamentary threshold.

According to him, the determination of the parliamentary threshold needs to be seen from the perspective of the post-reformist democracy philosophy. After the end of President Soeharto's government, Indonesia entered a phase of democratization with elections as a mechanism for regenerating leadership held periodically every five years.

"At the beginning of the reform, political parties were given a wide space to develop, so that the first election was followed by 48 political parties," he said.

However, he continued, in the presidential system of government, effectiveness in state management is needed, so that the parliamentary threshold is used as an instrument of democracy determined through the people's choice, not power.

He said the parliamentary threshold was a mechanism for the people to determine which political parties were entitled to send their representatives to parliament.

Over time, the threshold was gradually increased to encourage the consolidation of the number of political parties in the DPR and increase the effectiveness of the government.

Regarding the ideal number, Hasto emphasized that it would still be discussed through a comprehensive political process and study in the discussion of the Draft Election Law.

"PDI Perjuangan is in dialogue with other parties, including non-parliamentary parties that also have the right to exist," he said.

He added that the results of the dialogue are expected to lead to a joint agreement regarding the parliamentary threshold.