Government: Limited-Open Proportional System Is to Strengthen Political Party

According to the new Election Law Bill proposed by the Government, the Government will implement an election system called limited-open proportional system for the upcoming national elections. Many election activists object to the proposal because they think the limited-open system is essentially a closed-list proportional system. However, the Government thinks the proposed system is the best option to strengthen political party.

“We want to implement an election system that can strengthen political party, and the limited-open system is the best option we have to achieve that,” says an official from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Bachtiar, during a public discussion titled “Implementing High-quality Elections: Critical Examination on the Election Law Bill” in Jakarta (11/16).

Bachtiar says the Government decided to implement the limited-open system despite the Government Resolution No.22/PUUIV-2008 Article 27 paragraph (1) and Article 28D paragraph (3) states that a candidate in elections is elected based on popular votes. The limited-open system will provide full authority for political party to select its own candidates in legislative elections.

“Legislative elections are competitions between political parties, not individual candidates. So, don’t get it wrong: the full open-list system will only be advantageous for individual candidates with more money and resources. This is very liberal,” says Bachtiar.

Bachtiar asks members of the Parliament to really consider the Election Law Bill that has been proposed by the Government. There are two important points in the Bill: the implementation of the limited-open list system to strengthen political party and the provision regarding political subsidy.