The Open Proportional Election System Is Called Contrary To The Constitution And Lowering Election Quality

Constitutional Law Expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Constitutional Law expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra explained the reasons for the open proportional system to contradict the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia as well as reduce the quality of elections.

"Because it weakens, reduces the function of political parties, weakens the capacity of voters and reduces the quality of general elections," said Yusril Ihza Mahendra in a follow-up hearing of case Number 114/PUU-XX/2022 with the agenda of hearing information from related parties held by the Constitutional Court, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, March 8.

Article 168 Paragraph (2), Article 342 Paragraph (2), Article 353 Paragraph (1) letter B, Article 386 Paragraph (2) letter B, Article 420 Paragraph (2), Article 353 Paragraph (1) letter B, Article 386 Paragraph (2) letter B, Article 420 letters C and D, Article 422, Article 424 Paragraph (2), Article 426 Paragraph (3) Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections governing the issue of open proportional systems, is clearly considered by Yusril to be contrary to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

The reason is because it blocks the fulfillment of constitutional guarantees regarding the function of political parties, weakens voters' capacity, and weakens the quality of general elections.

In front of the panel of judges chaired by Anwar Usman, he said referring to Article 1 Paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, asserting that sovereignty is in the hands of the people and implemented according to the Constitution. The affirmation of sovereignty in the hands of the people ensures that Indonesia is purely a democratic country that is prepared and filled and carried out by its citizens.

"Indonesia is not run by a certain group of people and nor is it a group of dynastics that has only passed power on to their lineages for generations," said Yusril asserted.

Even though sovereignty is in the hands of the people, the vast territory of Indonesia and its complex government affairs make it impossible for 270 million Indonesians to run the wheels of their own government directly.

"This means that inevitably only some people must be elected because they are capable and competent in carrying out these tasks. On that basis, the representative system is implemented," he explained.

Yusril continued that sovereignty in the hands of the people was carried out according to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. The meaning of this implementation is explained in Article 22E of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia which was carried out with a mechanism called general election.

"About 270 million more people are given the opportunity to directly elect their representatives," he added.

In the provisions of Article 22E Paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, it is stated that general elections are held directly, in general, free, secret, honest, and fair once every five years. Then in Paragraph (2) it is stated regarding the position to be elected by the constituent.

Meanwhile, Article 22E Paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia emphasized that those participating in the contestation in the election for members of the DPR and DPRD are political parties. Likewise with the presidential and vice presidential elections.

The provisions of Article 6A Paragraph (2) emphasize that a pair of presidential and vice presidential candidates is proposed by a political party or coalition of political parties participating in the general election before the election.

A conclusion can be drawn, he continued, regarding the implementation of people's sovereignty, the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia puts political parties in a dominant position.

"It is the political parties that have a contest, not the people who directly contest," he explained.

Yusril added that without the participation of political parties in the election, there would never be any distribution of sovereignty. In other words, the absence of political parties in the election contestation will eliminate the democratic country itself.