Lower election threshold 'can allow' for young candidates

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 08/06/2008 10:18 AM | National

The quest for a young candidate to win the presidency next year will rely on political parties' acceptance of a lower electoral threshold, a discussion heard Tuesday.

Mahfudz Siddiq, chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction at the House of Representatives, said ongoing deliberations over the presidential election bill had polarized the House, with major parties almost likely to nominate old faces in the 2009 poll pitted against small and new parties out to nominate young aspirants.

He said the country's two largest parties, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party, had proposed a high electoral threshold of up to 30 percent, compared to the 15 percent demanded by smaller parties.

"If the nation wants to see younger candidates take the presidency, the electoral threshold must be set lower than 30 percent to allow new or minor parties to contest," he said.

Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, who chairs the House's special committee debating the presidential election bill, admitted the electoral threshold remained a contentious issue.

He predicted, however, negotiations between the factions would result in a compromise electoral threshold of between 15 and 20 percent.

The Islamic-based PKS has vowed to nominate a young presidential candidate from a short list of 300 nominees -- all of whom have doctoral degrees.

Another small party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), has not officially named a candidate, but its leader Soetrisno Bachir has intensified his self-campaigning both in print and electronic media.

The PDI-P has announced the nomination of chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri for the 2009 presidential election. Megawati, despite being the incumbent in 2004, lost that contest to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Although it has yet to name a candidate, Golkar is likely to propose old figures, including Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Mahfudz said the PKS was eager to nominate a fresh and young presidential candidate, citing the party's need for a "more progressive and visionary candidate with a clean track record".

Political analyst Syamsuddin Haris from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) said he fully supported the emergence of young presidential candidates.

"But young or fresh should not necessarily refer to age. Instead, it should refer to ideas and initiatives. There are a number of young figures who have put themselves forward as presidential candidates, but they lack something concrete in dealing with the problems facing the country," Syamsuddin said.

The presidential election is expected to take place in the first week of July 2009.

In 2004, the House passed a presidential election law which set the electoral threshold at 15 percent. Five candidates contested the nation's first ever direct presidential election that year.