A MORE Dynamic Vote?
In order to reduce the number of candidates competing for the top position in Indonesia, the political threshold was established prior to the country’s first immediate presidential election in 2004. Before 2004, a senator was appointed by congress.
Up then, the threshold stood at 15 per share, resulting in a five-horse culture. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the election, but not before he faced Megawati Soekarnoputri in a discharge.
The threshold was then increased to 20 % prior to the 2009 vote, which critics saw as a move to make the national vote less aggressive by limiting the number of individuals.  ,
This resulted in three candidates being elected, and Yudhoyono won the election after defeating his rivals in one square.
The restraint, according to reviewers, gives major political parties like Gerindra and PDI-P too much power, while smaller parties can simply seek to a running-mate solution or a government position.
Additionally, the nomination process for a political candidate is not clear because it doesn’t pass through a party convention for all to see, like in the United States. Titi Anggraini, an expert on election laws from the University of Indonesia, explained that a political candidate in Indonesia is largely chosen by a few leaders inside the major political parties.
Lawmakers from some of Indonesia’s biggest events have stated they respect the decision and pledge to defend it despite the court decision diminishing their impact on shaping the country’s political environment.
In a statement released on January 3, Gerindra’s Budiarto Djiwandono said,” We will study the ( court ) decision in detail before making it as reference to deliberate revisions to the ( current ) Law on Election.
Members of the PDI-P made it clear that the group is looking to limit the number of individuals in different ways.
Senior PDI-P lawmaker Said Abdullah told reporters on January 3 that” we want candidates to have certain qualitative requirements, such as knowledge running for public office, understanding of how the country is run, and monitor record,” without limiting each party’s ability to select their own national and vice-presidential candidates.
Acknowledging that politicians may find other methods to limit the number of individuals, analysts are also looking forward to a threshold-free vote.
” Regardless of size, lowering the level will result in an equal playing field for political celebrations.” Due to the political diversity that voters in Indonesia receive, the court decision will help to make elections more diverse, open, and dynamic, Titi said.
The Constitutional Court’s latest decision also suggests a “more democratic stance”, she said.
Over the past 20 years, there have been at least 30 similar requests to withdraw the level.  ,
Four kids from Cirebon, West Java’s Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University, filed the powerful petition.
” The Constitutional Court probably sought to avoid further tarnishing its common picture, which suffered after the controversial choice on Gibran in 2023″, said Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.
He was referring to the questionable jury selection which revised the time limit for election for public office, essentially paving the way for then-president Joko Widodo’s child Gibran Rakabuming Raka, aged 36 at the time, to work for vice-president.
The court was forced to launch an ethics inquiry against then-chief justice Anwar Usman, Widodo’s brother-in-law, for alleged conflict of interest after the controversy sparked a massive student protest outside the Constitutional Court. Anwar was later allowed to keep his job as a regular justice but later removed from his position as chief justice.  ,