The Constitutional Court has recently abolished the minimum presidential threshold of 20% of DPR seats or 25% of valid national votes in the previous election as a requirement for presidential and vice-presidential candidacy.
Four students from the Faculty of Sharia and Law at UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta, proposed this motion. According to the petitioners, the vote count should follow the respective election period.
However, in the case of the presidential threshold, the vote count is used for two election periods, which could lead to distortion of representation in a democratic system.
Dr. Yance Arizona, a Constitutional Law lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FH UGM), commented on the ruling.
During the trial, Dr. Arizona provided expert testimony regarding the presidential candidacy threshold in a judicial review of Article 222 of the Election Law.
He stated that this article has been the most frequently reviewed throughout the Constitutional Court’s history. This indicates that it has been a subject of concern for various groups, both academics and politicians.
However, according to Dr. Arizona, after 22 years, the Constitutional Court finally granted the petition, acknowledging that the presidential threshold has indeed been an issue in the sustainability of democracy in Indonesia.
“I believe this ruling is important because if the 20% presidential threshold had been maintained, there could have been only one single candidate pair. That would have been detrimental to democracy,” said Dr. Arizona on Tuesday (Jan. 14) at UGM.
With the removal of the presidential candidacy threshold, he noted, all political parties without exception that pass the verification to participate in the election will be able to nominate their cadres as president.
This implies that more presidential candidates will be available to the public. On one hand, this opens up more options for the public to select the best leader. On the other hand, it makes it harder for the public to understand the agendas of each presidential candidate in the future.
“More options are better than fewer options. With more options, the political representation process also improves,” Dr. Arizona explained.
Regarding the implementation of a two-round election, Dr. Arizona believes there will not be much change or an increase in the state’s budget. From the organizer’s side, namely the government, the costs will likely remain the same as in previous years.
However, Dr. Arizona emphasized that the expenses for all candidates will become significantly higher. With more presidential candidates, contestants will be required to find more efficient ways to gather votes.
“The cost of their campaigns, if accumulated, will be much higher,” Dr. Arizona noted.
This Constitutional Court ruling is expected to lead to a more democratic presidential election process. He observed that the decline of democracy has become a global phenomenon.
In many countries, democratic institutions are being undermined by democratically elected individuals.
In this context, Dr. Arizona referred to the election of Donald Trump in the United States and Bongbong Marcos in the Philippines. He believes that this Constitutional Court ruling could slow down or even reverse the democratic regression occurring in Indonesia.
“This ruling by the Constitutional Court is an oasis, a hope for us so that the democratic decline in our country does not worsen,” Dr. Arizona stated.
The expert urged the DPR and the government to prepare amendments to the 2029 Election Law following the Constitutional Court’s decision. He hopes that these changes will serve as a key reference for organizing the next five years’ elections.
“I hope there will be a more open and participatory process in the amendments related to elections and political parties in the future,” Dr. Arizona concluded.
Author: Tiefany
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Afifudin Baliya
Photo: Kompas.id