Indonesian court’s electoral ruling may reshape politics, thwart ‘oligarchy’ of parties

Indonesian civil society activists hailed a Constitutional Court ruling on Tuesday to revise requirements for a political party to nominate a candidate in elections for regional heads, saying it would preserve democratic principles by preventing big parties from dominating races.

The ruling, delivered on a petition by two relatively new parties, will be in effect during the Aug. 27-29 nomination period for the regional elections scheduled to be held in late November.

Abdul Mu’ti, secretary general of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s second largest Islamic organization, welcomed the revised eligibility rule on nominating candidates, describing it as a major shift.

“This is expected to end the tyranny and dominance of major political parties in determining regional leadership,” Mu’ti said in a statement.

The court issued its decision a day after it seemed like a foregone conclusion that a candidate aligned with President-elect Prabowo Subianto, may run unopposed in the Jakarta governor’s race after almost all parties on the city council backed him.

Prabowo and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who is vice president-elect and also President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s eldest son, have stitched together a broad post-polls alliance that will support their administration in parliament. 

And some analysts had told BenarNews a day earlier they expected that the duo’s choices would swamp the regional polls in many provinces on Nov. 27, as its candidate did in Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the same ruling delivered disappointing news for Jokowi’s youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, when the court upheld minimum-age rules for governor and deputy governor contestants, which say candidates must be 30 years old at the time of their registration.

The Constitutional Court’s decision effectively disqualified Kaesang from an expected deputy governor candidacy in Central Java, thwarting, for now, what many observers say is Jokowi’s attempt to widen his political dynasty.

The court reversed an earlier decision by the Supreme Court, which had allowed candidates to meet the age requirement by the time they were sworn in, a move that briefly opened the door for Kaesang’s candidacy.

The revised eligibility rule on nominating candidates for regional head positions – governors, regents, mayors and their deputies – is expected to reshape the political landscape in the lead-up to the November regional elections, analysts and some political parties and groups said.

Dedi Kurnia Syah, executive director of Indonesia Political Opinion (IPO) said the court’s decision would enable a broader range of candidates to enter the fray.

“This decision is a positive development for our democracy, as it prevents certain parties from eliminating competition in the regional elections,” he told BenarNews.

New requirement

The Constitutional Court ruling’s revised electoral framework allows political parties or coalitions that don’t have legislative seats to nominate candidates for the posts of governors, regents, mayors and their deputies, albeit under one condition.

They should have won a percentage of the popular vote in the previous regional election – a number the court set based on the size of the provinces they contested in.

For provinces with electorates ranging from 2 million to 6 million, the threshold is set at 8.5%. In regions with 6 million to 12 million voters, it drops to 7.5%, and for areas exceeding 12 million voters, the requirement is further reduced to 6.5%.

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In making this change, the court ended the requirement that a party or a coalition have 20% of seats on the provincial council or the much higher 25% of the popular vote.

The Labor Party and Gelora Party had petitioned against this earlier requirement by challenging  provisions of a 2016 law that governs regional elections.

Chief Justice Suhartoyo, who goes by one name, said the provisions in question were “in conflict with the 1945 Constitution and therefore no longer legally binding.”

Jakarta governor race

Tuesday’s ruling may benefit former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan, who despite leading in opinion polls, had been sidelined in his bid to serve another term.

Prabowo’s coalition and other parties who had allied with his coalition following the presidential election result, supported the president-elect’s choice of candidate, Ridwan Kamil, an ex-governor of West Java.

The three parties that had backed Anies’ losing presidential bid and initially his Jakarta governor bid, switched their support to Ridwan seeing where the chips were falling. A member of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), one of these three parties, was nominated as Ridwan’s running mate.

This meant all parties on the Jakarta City Council, barring one, supported Ridwan, whose nomination they announced on Monday. 

That lone party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), did not have enough seats or percentage of votes under the old rule to field its own candidate.

A day later the situation has dramatically changed.

With the end of the old requirements, the party is eligible to field a candidate for Jakarta governor, and Anies is a candidate in search of a party.

Deddy Sitorus, a senior PDI-P member, said the court ruling would help ensure that more than one pair of candidates runs in the various regional elections.

“The ruling must be seen as a victory against the oligarchy of political parties who want to hijack democracy and people's sovereignty,” local media cited him as saying in a statement.

“The more candidates, the more choices for leaders that the people can consider.”

Chico Hakim, a PDI-P spokesman, hailed the ruling as a victory for democracy, saying that the party would convene to discuss the Jakarta governor position.

“Concerning Anies’ candidacy in Jakarta, we’ll have to see how things unfold,” he told BenarNews. 

“We should await the decision from the party’s central board.” 

PDI-P is reportedly considering Anies and several internal candidates, including another former Jakarta governor, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama. 

In 2017, Ahok was the incumbent who Anies defeated in a divisive race marred by religious tensions and mass protests.

But the PDI-P might choose to nominate Anies even though he is not a party member, said Aisah Putri Budiatri, a political analyst at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

“The probability of Anies being nominated by PDI-P is high due to his better chances of winning compared to an internal candidate,” she said.

“Ridwan Kamil is new to the political scene in Jakarta and lacks a track record [here].”