PDI-P Pitches Simultaneous Presidential, Legislative Elections

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The national congress of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), held in Bali, resulted in a number of political stances read during the closing ceremony of the congress, including a goal to conduct simultaneous presidential and legislative elections in 2019.

“We call on the president who has been building an ideological cooperation with political parties at the House of Representatives [to realize the plan],” PDI-P secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto stated on Saturday, April 11, 2015.

Hasto said the ideological cooperation will create a stronger and more effective government than the previous one. According to Hasto, the previous government had difficulties in building a political cooperation with the parliament since there was no significant correlation between the winning party and the elected president.

Therefore, Hasto said that the PDI-P will continue to support an endeavor to simplify political parties by limiting their rights to participate in elections and sit at the parliament.

“The state must build a parliamentary threshold at all government levels,” Hasto added

Hasto explained that the PDI-P would continue to support honest, fair, direct, general, free and secret elections as mandated by the Constitution. “The General Election Commission (KPU) must stand as an institution that conducts elections without an authority to make a political policy.”

Therefore, Hasto suggested that the recruitment of KPU members must be based on special requirements that emphasize professionalism.

ROFIQI HASAN