The Constitutional Court will once again rule on a law that will have a huge impact on the country’s future.
Later this week it will decide on whether the presidential threshold will stay or be dropped, and whether or not the legislative and presidential elections will be held on the same day.
If it is dropped then the 12 political parties eligible to join the 2014 legislative election don’t have to get either 20 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives or 25 percent of the popular votes to nominate a presidential candidate.
Looking at the behavior of Indonesian politicians, who are hungry for power without ever considering their capacity and contribution to the country, there will be 12 presidential candidates in 2014 of varying quality.
As is always the case in Indonesia, where the opportunity to attain a certain position, especially the country’s top job, may be bought, we just hope the parties select their candidates based on capacity and wisdom, not on how much money he or she can pay to secure the candidacy.
While dropping the presidential threshold will be controversial, holding both legislative and presidential elections at the same time makes sense, as this will save trillions of rupiah of tax payers’ money.
The decision will also save people’s energy, and prevent election fatigue, which has been felt by people across the country for having to vote multiple times in a relatively short period.
The Constitutional Court should see this law review as a golden opportunity to fix its image, which has been destroyed since the arrest, on suspicion of graft, of Akil Mochtar — the previous chief of the court — by making the wisest ruling possible for the benefit of the people, not for some politicians who want to use a legal loophole to run for president.
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