Apart from the president and vice president, members of the House of Representatives (DPR), regional leaders, and regional legislature members, voters will also select the senator representing them in the DPD in the elections next year.
Each province is represented by four senators in the upper house of the Indonesian parliament. Due to the establishment of new provinces in Papua, the next DPD will have 152 members, a significant increase from the current number of 136.
"According to the minimum electorate support and its distribution as per Article 183 of the Election Law, 700 prospective senatorial candidates have fulfilled the criteria," KPU Commissioner Idham Holik stated here on Saturday.
He noted that of the 700 qualified candidates, there are 139 female candidates, or equal to 19.86 percent, and 561 male candidates, or equivalent to 80.14 percent.
With 55 qualified senatorial candidates, West Java is the province with the largest number of candidates, while Yogyakarta has the lowest number, recording only nine qualified candidates, the commissioner remarked.
Holik stated that South Sumatra, where 50 percent of its prospective candidates are women, has the highest percentage of female senatorial candidates of all provinces in Indonesia.
"Provinces with zero-percent female senatorial candidates are West Sulawesi, West Papua, and Southwest Papua," he pointed out.
Earlier, the KPU announced that prospective DPD senatorial candidates deemed to fulfil the minimum electorate support could advance to the registration phase in May 2023.
Speaking in connection with the KPU Announcement No. 18/PL.01.4-PU/05/2023, KPU Chairperson Hasyim Asy'ari stated that the senatorial candidate registration will open from May 1, 2023, to May 14, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. local time.
He said that prospective candidates are required to register at KPU offices in their respective provinces or at the Independent Election Commission (KIP) office in Aceh Province.
Related news: DPD Speaker advises vigilance in face of disaster risk
Related news: DPD Speaker seeks increase in production of local commodities
Translator: Tri Meilani A, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
