Electoral Threshold
Sep 12th, 2006, in News, by PatungThe threshold for parties competing in the 2009 election will be raised to 5% of the national vote, raising fears that a New Order system will re-arise.
Ryaas Rasyid, a member of Komisi II in the parliament, said detik on Monday that the planned 5% threshold, raised from 3% at the last election in 2004, would see the extinction of dozens of currently functioning parties, and that this would hark back to the time of General Suharto. He believes that the 2% threshold used at the 1999 elections was the most fair system.
Rasyid, a member of the PPDK, the United Democratic Nationhood Party, a small party that won only four seats last election (1.3 million votes), went on:
What on earth is wrong with there being a lot of parties? It’s the people’s choice. Parties which have won representation in the parliament have to be respected.
(Apa sih masalahnya dengan banyak partai? Itu rakyat yang milih. Partai yang punya wakil di DPR harus dihargai.)
Meanwhile, earlier, vice president Jusuf Kalla, said detik that by 2009 only six parties would have earned the right to continue competing in elections, according to the threshold rules.
Kalla said that if there are “too many” parties then people would become confused. In 1999, he said, 48 parties competed in the polls. By 2004 this number declined to only 24, and he hoped that the downsizing trend would continue.
He cited the example of advanced countries as something which Indonesia should follow. America had only two parties, England 3, Australia 3 or 4, Japan 4 or 5, he said.
The complete list of threshold qualifications for 2009 are:
- 5% of national votes, or
- 3% of seats in the House of Representatives, or
- 4% of seats in the Provincial House of Representatives in at least half of the provinces, or
- 4% of seats in the Districts/Municipalities House of Representatives in at least half of the districts/municipalities.
7 Comments on “Electoral Threshold”
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Parvita says:
This will impact on having less party, which I think is quite fine. I don’t find any of the smaller parties are doing anything significant anyways. Seems like they are only there for more money.
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Hassan says:
when it comes to politics, less is more, i’d say…
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Rizki says:
I do support electoral threshold. More parties mean that a lot of argument in the House. This will lead to the slow output from government,because they have to wait until the House approves their steps. Then our politician will busy themselves with arguing on each faction’s stance,rather than endorsing important laws.
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Badrut Tamam Gaffas says:
In my opinion ET can simplify the democracy system but also can kill the various aspiration so the big element politic has more power to dominate election and parliament. So, let everyone free to express their aspiration and find the way out with contitutional rules, nature’s selection will always be the ending.
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Pria Fardio says:
I do believe that we need more parties to make our democracy system better. When parties can’t contribute their aspiration because of electoral threshold matter, people who elect them would never could tell government what they really want in case of they don’t believe in other party. Let anyone free to express their aspiration
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Drs. Nahusman Petrus says:
I completely disagree with the change of ET. To raise from 2% is definitely a intentional plan from big parties to get the advantage from the small parties. It is really unfair. Remember they represent the people. The people vote for them (the party or CALEG is their choices and their votes must be admitted (not to be transfered and manipulated to big parties).
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Excellent.