Major Parties Ask for New Party Establishment to be Tightened
Thursday, 16 November, 2006 | 17:12 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: Several major political parties plan to raise the acceptable electoral threshold in the coming Political Party Decree revision.

The parties include the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) and the United Development Party.

Leaders of these parties have often communicated as regards discussing this matter.

Soetrisno Bachir, PAN General Chairman, acknowledge the plan.

According to him, the rise of the acceptable electoral threshold was not to exclude new parties.

“Not to make entry difficult but to tighten the requirements,” he said after meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla at Kalla's official residence yesterday (15/11).

The idea, he said, is aimed so that parties of general election participants are not too many.

The United States, the country that is regarded democratic, he said, only has two parties of general election participants.

“Here there are a lot of new parties with odd names. That shows they're not serious,” he said.

Panda Nababan, one of PDI-P faction chairpersons, during visit to Koran Tempo, Tuesday (14/11), acknowledged there were discussions among parties at parliament to limit the number of parties at the House of Representatives (DPR).

“So that we can be more effective in parliament,” he said.

Andi Mattalata, Golkar Party faction chairperson, during the party's national meeting suggested the acceptable electoral threshold be raised from three percent to between five and seven percent in the next general election.

Machfud Sidiq, PKS faction chairperson, agreed with the idea.

The reason is, currently the number of parties and factions is not equivalent to the number of commissions and bodies of the people's aspiration channels.

“Ideally, one commission comprises four parties' representatives,” he said.
So the ideal acceptable threshold is between five and six percent.

With this threshold, he said, there will be only six or seven factions.

“DPR's work will be more effective,” he said.

Sutarto and Yophiandi