Switching Party and Anti-Defection Law: Implementation and Impact on Democracy in Indonesia

Abstract

This analysis purposes to provide an overview of the legal framework regarding the transfer of membership of political parties in Indonesia and its impact on the realm of democracy. This study uses qualitative-normative research methods by examining library materials or secondary data, as well as primary and secondary legal materials. The study uses the four approaches namely statute approach, conceptual approach, comparative approach, and historical approach. The results of this study indicate that the ban was carried out by giving recall rights to political parties to revoke their membership in parliament and replace it with other members. The high impact is to maintain the stability of government both the legislature and the executive while the adverse effect is the hostility of strong democracy when there is a difference between the will of the constituents and the interests of the party.

Authoritarian diasporas in Indonesia and the Philippines: comparative perspectives on elite survival and defection

“…31/2002 on Political Parties states that MPs who switch parties during a legislative period can be withdrawn from the national parliament by the party leadership. 37 In addition, in Indonesian politics crossing the floor is taboo: "Politicians who switch parties are generally referred to as kutu loncat, or small jumping insects that feed on blood." 38 Consequently, the majority of members of the authoritarian cohort who switched parties (i.e.…”