UGM Expert: The Threshold For Presidential Candidates Of Zero Percent Could In Fact Be Problematic

ILLUSTRA TION BY VOI

YOGYAKARTA - Gadjah Mada University (UGM) political expert Mada Sukmajati said that if the presidential threshold was lowered to zero percent, it would potentially create problems.

"I think technically it will cause very complex or very complicated problems, even though the argument is community participation and so on. Moreover, if it is allowed for independent candidates, it will certainly lead to another story," said Mada in a written statement quoted by Antara, Saturday, June 25.

According to him, if some parties push the threshold for presidential candidacy to zero percent, one of the consequences is that everyone can eventually run for president.

Mada explained that participation is indeed one of the pillars of democracy. However, it must be managed so that it does not complicate the democratization process.

According to him, democracy does not mean that everyone can participate in running for president without stipulating the conditions.

In a democracy, according to him, there must still be rules. Talking about democracy is certainly not only at the level of discourse or narrative level, but must move to the level of praxis or practice.

If it is just a discourse but in practice it is difficult to do, according to him, it will certainly complicate the democratic process.

"When it comes to the big points of democracy, everyone agrees, everyone's participation agrees, everyone agrees on the contestation as a pillar of an equal and fair democracy, but how to translate it into state administration practice, in electoral practice, that has become a lot of debate. , he said.

Mada said the discourse on the presidential threshold has long been developing, even many parties have several times through the Constitutional Court conducted a judicial review related to Law number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections.

However, the Constitutional Court always gives an answer if the legal standing related to the amendment to the Law is in the DPR as an institution that has open space for interpretation.

However, he said, so far from the formal legality of Law number 7 of 2017 it seems that it will not be revised or amended by factions in the DPR.

"So, those who question the threshold are those who mainly calculate if the chances are very slim to participate in the presidential election," said Mada.