The atmosphere on the last day for registering legislative candidates, indicated that the 2019 general election would be tighter than before. Political parties nominated figures widely known to the public like ministers, former ministers and celebrities to vie for seats at the House of Representatives.
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ANTARA FOTO/RENO ESNIR
Officers arrange the flags of political parties participating in the 2019 General Elections at the General Election Commission (KPU) building in Jakarta on Tuesday, July 3, 2018. The KPU opened the registration for legislative candidates for seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) and Regional Legislative Councils (DPRD) for the 2019 General Elections from July 4-17.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The atmosphere on Tuesday (17/7/2019), the last day for registering legislative candidates, indicated that the 2019 general election would be tighter than before. Political parties nominated figures widely known to the public like ministers, former ministers and celebrities to vie for seats at the House of Representatives amid the growing number of candidates.
During the 14-day registration for House candidates, 15 of 16 political parties participating in the general election at the national level registered on the very last day. Only one political party, Nasdem, registered on the second-to-last day.
Last night at around 11:35 p.m., the candidates of 15 political parties were finally registered at the General Elections Commission (KPU). The United Development Party (PPP) was the last political party to register with the KPU.
The majority of political parties also registered their candidates for the regional legislative councils (DPRDs) at the last minute.
Tightening
The 16 political parties participating in the House election have registered 8,401 candidates who will compete for 575 seats in 80 electoral districts. This means that only 6.8 percent of all candidates will be elected to the House.
KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO
Chairman of the General Election Commission (KPU) Arief Budiman (center) together with KPU commissioners (from left to right) Viryan, Wahyu Setiawan, Evi Novida Ginting Manik and Ilham Saputra await party representatives who want to submit candidate registration documents for the 2019 general election at the KPU Office in Jakarta on Tuesday, July 17, 2018. Tuesday was the final deadline for the registration of candidates who will run for seats in the House of Representatives (DPR), Provincial Legislative Councils (DPRD) and regency/city DPRD.
The margin for victory is lower than the 8.4 percent in the 2014 legislative election, which saw 6,060 candidates compete for 560 seats in 77 electoral districts.
Aside from the House seats, candidates will also compete for 2,207 seats at provincial DPRDs in 272 electoral districts and 17,610 seats at regency/municipal DPRDs in 2,206 electoral districts. These figures are close to the figures in the 2014 general elections, with 2,112 seats at provincial DPRDs in 259 electoral districts and 16,895 seats at regency/municipal DPRDs in 2,117 electoral districts.
The KPU data shows that more than 200,000 candidates are taking part in the 2019 general election.
Statistically, more candidates are taking part in next year’s general election than in 2014. The number of political parties in Aceh has increased from 12 national parties and three local parties to 16 national parties and four local parties. This has resulted in an increased number of candidates, so the margin for victory is lower in the previous general election.
Titi Anggraini, the executive director of the Elections and Democracy Association, said the upcoming race was tighter, not only because more political parties and candidates were taking part, but also because of the higher minimum legislative threshold, which was 3.5 percent in 2014 and 4 percent in 2019.
ANTARA FOTO/RAHMAD
A female legislative candidate completes a Koran reading test carried out by the Lhokseumawe Independent Election Commission (KIP) at the Islamic Center Grand Mosque in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, on Monday, July 16, 2018. Candidates must complete a Koran reading test, held from July 16-18, by an independent examination team, to qualify to run in the 2019 General Elections in Aceh.
Vote-getters
The tight competition has prompted political parties to back figures that would be popular among voters, such as celebrities, current legislators and ministers. The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), for example, is supporting two of its cadres in the Cabinet, Puan Maharani and Yasonna Laoly, as well as Presidential Spokesman Johan Budi.
PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said the party wanted to propose seven ministers as candidates, but only nominated two in the end. "Whatever the case, the party needs a support base, because this general election will see the most voters," he said.
National Awakening Party (PKB) secretary-general Abdul Kadir Karding said that the fate of its three cadres in the Cabinet that are running for the legislature would be up to the President if they won in the 2019 general election.
The National Mandate Party (PAN) has tipped Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Asman Abnur as a legislative candidate. "This decision is not yet final, because the KPU has not made an officially announcement and we will ask the minister again, but he was to register in the same electoral district," said Hanafi Rais, the deputy chairman of PAN’s executive board.
However, the Golkar Party has not nominated its cadres in the Cabinet as legislative candidates. Golkar secretary-general Lodewijk said the party wanted its three ministers to assist President Joko Widodo until 2019. Nasdem secretary-general Johnny G Plate echoed Lodewijk.
ANTARA FOTO/IRWANSYAH PUTRA/
Chairman of the central executive board of Partai SIRA Muhammad Nazar (second right) examines documents submitted by candidates running to become members of the Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA) from 10 electoral districts in Banda Aceh, Aceh, on Tuesday, July 17, 2018. Four local political parties in Aceh, namely Partai Aceh, Partai Daerah Aceh, Partai Nangroe Aceh and Partai SIRA, are participating in the 2019 General Elections.
In their place, Nasdem has proposed many celebrities and former athletes, several former ministers, former governors and incumbent governors as its candidates. These include Rachmat Gobel, former South Sulawesi governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo and East Kalimantan Governor Awang Faroek.
"Surveys from a number of institutions show that 70 percent of voters choose a party because of the candidate and the others 30 percent because of the parties. Departing from this, Nasdem has tried to present candidates with capacity, integrity and popularity," said Johnny.
Democrat Party secretary-general Hinca Panjaitan said the party had nominated figures that were accepted by the public, its supporters and sympathizers.
On leave
KPU Chairman Arief Budiman said the provisions in General Elections Law No. 7/2017 did not require ministers to resign when running for the legislature. However, they must take leave from the Cabinet and are prohibited from using state facilities while campaigning.
"The government has set the leave mechanism, but the KPU must be given certainty that they are on official leave during the campaign," said Arief.
Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said that ministers who ran for the legislature could only campaign in their electoral districts on weekends. This policy was taken so that the government’s work would not be disrupted even if several ministers ran for the legislature.
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