At that time, political parties and prospective legislative candidates anxiously anticipated whether the electoral system would be altered. The eight parliamentary parties threatened the Constitutional Court. Should the proportional election system shift from open to closed, the budget of the Constitutional Court would also be evaluated. A judicial politicization entailed a political judicialization. Not only the court has been viewed as an independent legal mechanism, but serves the interested parties’ political approaches. The Constitutional Court appears to be a battleground between the existing authorities.
In fact, this issue becomes even more compelling when the presidential election candidacy requirements are tested by the Constitutional Court repeatedly, as outlined in Article 169 letter “q” of Law No. 7 of 2017.
This article specifies the age range for both presidential and vice presidential candidates to be at least forty years of age. A review of Article 169, letter D, also stipulates that candidates must never betray the state or perpetrate corruption or other serious crimes. The revision of Article 169 letter “n” pertains to not having served as president or vice president for more than two terms in the same position.
A number of political parties testing the requirements for presidential election candidacy are the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), the Garuda Party and the Gerindra Party, along with several youthful regional leaders, non-governmental organizations, and a large number of citizens from diverse backgrounds, either as candidates or as a related party.
A variety of interests
Based on the lawsuits requested, the examination of presidential election candidacy requirements can be divided into five groups with distinct interests.
First, a request to reduce the minimum age or eligibility requirements for candidates, with 35 years of age being the youngest, as proposed by PSI, Garuda, and Gerindra. However, there are requests for the minimum age requirement to be lower than 35: 21, 25, or 30 years.
Secondly, a request to impose an age restriction on candidates, with 70 years of age to be the oldest for candidates.
Third, Garuda and young regional leaders like East Java’s Deputy Governor Emil Dardak have proposed a request for an exception to the age restriction. There are those who advocate waiving the age requirement for those who have previously served as regional leaders. According to Almas Tsaqibbirru, in his request, case No. 90/ PUU-XXI/2023, he admitted to admiring the Mayor of Surakarta, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who, according to him, had led Surakarta successfully at the age of 35.
Fourth, a request to declare Article 169 unconstitutional, if it is not aligned with such conditions: never betrayed the state; never committed a criminal act of corruption; has no track record of committing serious human rights violations; is not a person involved in or as a participant in the kidnapping of activists in 1998; is not a person involved in or a perpetrator of enforced disappearances; has never committed a criminal act of genocide and other types of criminal acts.
Fifth, a request to declare Article 169 letter “N” unconstitutional if the candidate has served as president or vice president for two terms in the same position and never ran for president or vice president twice in the same position.
A close examination of the petitions submitted in detail will not deny that a candidate’s requirements are related to current practical political dynamics. The public can directly connect the contents of the application to the candidates’ interests in each coalition, particularly when it comes to the vice presidential nomination.