‘Victory for democracy’: Indonesian activists hail removal of limits on presidential bids

On January 2, the court ruled that a provision in the 2017 General Elections Law is unconstitutional. That provision required a political party or coalition must secure at least 20 per cent of the seats in the House of Representatives or 25 per cent of the popular vote to run a presidential candidate.

Opponents argued the rule reinforced the dominance of the country’s major parties – often supported by political elites and oligarchs – while stifling competition.

Since its introduction in 2008, 32 petitioners have sought to revoke the threshold without success. This time, however, four university debate champions from Yogyakarta convinced the court.

“This is not just our victory, but a victory for all Indonesian people, for democracy, for other petitioners. We hope this brings positive changes to our democracy,” Enika Maya Oktavia, one of the students, told This Week in Asia.

The court said it changed its opinion after observing the trend in recent presidential elections, which only offered two pairs of candidates.