Five package options on the five crucial issues in the General Elections Bill are displayed on a screen during the working meeting of the House Special Committee on the election bill in Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday (13/7). Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly and Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo attended the working meeting.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The deliberations of the General Elections Bill, which have been ongoing for the last nine months, will be decided in a plenary session of the House of Representatives, Thursday (20/7). If the decision is made by voting, the competition between the pro- and non-government party factions is predicted to be tight.
The decision on the five crucial issues of the election bill will determine the roadmap for the 2019 general elections, which will be the first time the presidential, legislative and regional elections will be held simultaneously.
Based on Kompas\'s observation, five factions of the ruling coalition – the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle(PDI-P), the Golkar Party, NasDem, the United Development Party (PPP) and Hanura – are already of one voice in support of the Package A option to resolve the issues.
The National Awakening Party (PKB) faction, which previously took a different stance from the other government factions, began exploring the opportunity to support Package A. Until 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, the PKB faction was still consulting with all members to determine its final stance. "We are open to the opportunity to support of Package A in participation with the other government factions," said PKB faction chairman Ida Fauziah on the sidelines of the meeting.
Package A consists of a presidential nomination threshold of 20 percent of House seats or 25 percent of national votes, an electoral threshold of 4 percent of national votes, an allocation of 3-10 seats per electoral district, an open and proportional legislative electoral system, and the Sainte-Lague votes-to-seats conversion method.
In considering the number of seats each faction holds, if all members are present at the plenary session, the strength of the ruling coalition factions supporting the government’s stance is 291 of the total 560 votes. They face three factions of the non-government political coalition (Gerindra, the Democratic Party, the Prosperous Justice Party) who have 174 votes in favor of Package B.
The composition of Package B resembles Package A, but differs on two crucial issues. Package B removes the presidential nomination threshold and uses the current Hare Quota seat allocation conversion.
The National Mandate Party (PAN) and PKB factions, which are part of the government coalition, possess the decisive votes. PAN has 47 votes, while PKB has 48. Unlike the PKB, PAN has not yet determined its stance. PAN faction secretary Yandri Susanto said the party was open to the opportunity to support Package A, as long as the seat allocation method was changed to the Hare Quota.
If this was not met, PAN would vote for its own package with a presidential threshold of 0-10 percent, which had the potential of breaking a tie during the voting process. "We have conveyed our desire to the President, the Home Minister, and PDI-P. We hope for a common ground," said Yandri.
PPP secretary general Arsul Sani believes the ruling coalition will eventually be unanimous in their stance. "Five factions supporting the government have no problem, they already agree. PKB is also leaning towards agreeing [with the government]. Only PAN needs to be approached again," he said.
Meanwhile, President Joko Widodo reminded that the electoral rules should be simple. Regarding the presidential nomination threshold, he said it was better to refer to previous provisions. "I want to be more straightforward (in the rules). We are aware that no party should be aggrieved. But this is the House’s domain," said the President.
Internal lobbying
The outcome of the plenary session rests not solely in the hands of faction leaders, but also in the hands of every member of the House factions, who each have a vote. PDI-P faction treasurer Alex Indra Lukman said that lobbying did not take place only at the elite level, but also among members.
The PDI-P faction, like a number of other factions, held a meeting of its members on Wednesday to consolidate the stance of all voting members. During the meeting, all members were again instructed to be present on time at today’s plenary session. The meeting also urged that each member’s stance would not deviate from the faction\'s stance.
The decision on whether to employ an open or closed voting mechanism will also influence the outcome. In an open voting process, House members are required to stand or raise their hands to indicate their vote, ensuring that faction leaders can check that their members vote in line with the party’s stance. However, if the voting is closed, members mark their choice on paper and can therefore choose options independently of their faction’s stance.
Benny K Harman of the Democratic Party faction suggested that the voting process should be closed.
PDI-P vice chairman Arif Wibowo said to the contrary, that a closed vote would be risky, because it had the potential to be disorderly and unmanageable.
