Supporters of former Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati have mounted a legal challenge that could clear the way for the reform icon to run for president in 2014.
The group of nine former politicians, media and social activists filed on Wednesday for a judicial review of Article 51 of the 2011 Political Parties Law, which they contend stipulates “nonsensical and difficult to meet” requirements for establishing a party.
Andi Muhammad Asrun, a lawyer for the group, said it “believes that this regulation disturbs and violates the constitutional right of a political party.”
The article requires each political party to have 30 representatives and an office in each of the country’s 33 provinces and meet the verification process two and a half years before the elections.
Abdul Rahman Tolleng, a former legislator and one of the plaintiffs, said the requirements restricted the political playing field to the rich. “This law was made specifically to benefit the wealthy,” he said. “If I don’t have money, then my constitutional rights exist merely on paper.”
He also said the group had spoken with Sri Mulyani about its plans. “She hasn’t officially stated that she will run in 2014, but she knows about our activities and she unofficially endorses them,” he said. “For us, she is a figure who is honest, firm and capable of leading Indonesia.”
The plaintiffs want the article scrapped in order to make it easier to register their group, the Independent People’s Union (SRI), as a political party in time for the 2014 elections.
Having the party recognized would be the first step toward nominating Sri Mulyani as a presidential candidate. Under the Elections Law, only parties or coalitions that win 25 percent of the popular vote or 20 percent of seats in the House of Representatives may field a candidate.
Sri Mulyani, a managing director at the World Bank, is considered to be one of the rare clean figures in Indonesian politics.
Constitutional Court Justice Harjono, who heard the plaintiffs’ arguments, said Article 51 of the Political Parties Law was already being contested by other plaintiffs and a decision was pending.
“If an article is being reviewed, then it can’t be subject to another review unless there are special circumstances, or if there is a new perspective,” he said.
Andi said his group would wait for the ruling on the pending review to come out before deciding on whether to proceed with its own review.
Among the plaintiffs are Democratic Party politician M. Husni Thamrin, Budi Arie Setiadi from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and renowned journalists Goenawan Mohamad and Fikri Jufri.
The group of nine former politicians, media and social activists filed on Wednesday for a judicial review of Article 51 of the 2011 Political Parties Law, which they contend stipulates “nonsensical and difficult to meet” requirements for establishing a party.
Andi Muhammad Asrun, a lawyer for the group, said it “believes that this regulation disturbs and violates the constitutional right of a political party.”
The article requires each political party to have 30 representatives and an office in each of the country’s 33 provinces and meet the verification process two and a half years before the elections.
Abdul Rahman Tolleng, a former legislator and one of the plaintiffs, said the requirements restricted the political playing field to the rich. “This law was made specifically to benefit the wealthy,” he said. “If I don’t have money, then my constitutional rights exist merely on paper.”
He also said the group had spoken with Sri Mulyani about its plans. “She hasn’t officially stated that she will run in 2014, but she knows about our activities and she unofficially endorses them,” he said. “For us, she is a figure who is honest, firm and capable of leading Indonesia.”
The plaintiffs want the article scrapped in order to make it easier to register their group, the Independent People’s Union (SRI), as a political party in time for the 2014 elections.
Having the party recognized would be the first step toward nominating Sri Mulyani as a presidential candidate. Under the Elections Law, only parties or coalitions that win 25 percent of the popular vote or 20 percent of seats in the House of Representatives may field a candidate.
Sri Mulyani, a managing director at the World Bank, is considered to be one of the rare clean figures in Indonesian politics.
Constitutional Court Justice Harjono, who heard the plaintiffs’ arguments, said Article 51 of the Political Parties Law was already being contested by other plaintiffs and a decision was pending.
“If an article is being reviewed, then it can’t be subject to another review unless there are special circumstances, or if there is a new perspective,” he said.
Andi said his group would wait for the ruling on the pending review to come out before deciding on whether to proceed with its own review.
Among the plaintiffs are Democratic Party politician M. Husni Thamrin, Budi Arie Setiadi from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and renowned journalists Goenawan Mohamad and Fikri Jufri.
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