Indonesian legislative election, 2009

Legislative elections for the 560 seats of the Regional Representatives Council and the 128 seats of the People's Representative CouncilLaw No. 10/2008 on Elections] will be held in Indonesia on 9 April 2009. [http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/7/13/indonesia-kicks-off-a-nine-month-election-campaign/ Antara New Agency: Indonesia kicks off a nine-month election campaign] Over 60 parties registered for the elections, but only 34 originally met the eligibility requirements. However, on August 15, following a successful legal challenge, another four parties were permitted to join the contest, making 38 in total. [ [http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6409919.html Over 60 parties bid to race for Indonesian elections - People's Daily Online ] ] [http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6409583.html 66 political parties register with Indonesian EC - People's Daily Online ] ] [http://www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/nasional/2008/07/08/brk,20080708-127732,uk.html 34 Political Parties to Participate in 2009 Election - TempoInteractive] [ [http://www.detiknews.com/read/2008/08/15/215014/989526/10/akhirnya-parpol-gurem-ikut0pemilu-2009 Akhirnya KPU Putuskan 4 Parpol Gurem Ikut Pemilu 2009 (Finally the General Elections Commission Allows 4 small parties to contest the 2009 elections Detik.com] ]

chedule

The schedule for the elections is laid down in General Election Commission Regulation No. 20/2008 . The list of voters will be finalized from 17-24 October. The election campaign will run from 12 July 2008 to 5 April 2009 followed by a "quiet period" of three days, during which all election posters, banners and other materials must be removed from public places. The election will take place on 9 April, with results to be announced one month later. The new members of the Regional Representatives Council and the People's Representative Council will be sworn in on 1 October. [http://www.kpu.go.id/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=18&Itemid=78 General Election Commission Regulation No. 20/2008 (Indonesian)]

Campaign

Although the election campaign began on 12 July 2008, before 16 March it will be limited to invitation-only meetings, advertisements in the media and the distribution of campaign materials. The public campaign will run from 16 March to 5 April 2009. [http://www.kpu.go.id/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=18&Itemid=78 General Election Commission Regulation No. 20/2008 (Indonesian) Participants in the campaign are banned from calling into question the ideological or constitutional basis of the state as well as its form as a unitary republic. Campaign donations for DPR candidates are limited to one billion Indonesian rupiah from individuals and Rp5 billion from organizations, while the corresponding limits for DPD candidates are Rp250 million from individuals and Rp500 million from organizations.]

Parties

A total of 38 parties met the requirements to be allowed to participate in the national elections, with a further six contesting in Aceh only. Among the requirements is that 30 percent of candidates are women. The table shows the parties together with the numbers they will use during the campaign and that will appear on the ballot papers [ "Profil Partai Politik" (Profile of Political Parties), "Kompas" newspaper 14 July 2008 pp. 38-39] [http://www.harian-aceh.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=370:kip-tetapkan-nomor-urut-parlokpartai-aceh-nomor-39-pendukung-berkonvoi&catid=81:banda-aceh&Itemid=198 KIP Tetapkan Nomor Urut Parlok,Partai Aceh Nomor 39, Pendukung Berkonvoi (Independent Election Commission Sets Party Numbers) Harian Aceh online] [http://www.detiknews.com/read/2008/08/13/193847/988145/10/gugatan-4-parpol-ke-kpu-dikabulkan-pengadilan Gugatan 4 Parpol ke KPU Dikabulkan Pengadilan (Appeal from 4 Parties Granted bu Court Detik.com accessed 19-08-2008] [ Party political advertisement by "Partai Barisan Nasional" in "Kompas" newspaper 3 September 2008 p8] .

Allocation of seats

Only parties that achieve the electoral threshold of 2.5% of votes cast will be awarded seats in the People's Representative Council. Seats will be awarded at the provincial level, initially by dividing the number of valid votes of parties meeting the electoral threshold by the number of seats to calculate the total needed to elect one member. Parties exceeding this total will be awarded seats. Any remaining seats will be allocated to parties with the largest vote remainder following the first stage. Seats in the DPD will be allocated to the candidates with the first, second third and fourth largest vote tally per province.

References