Natural Born Citizen as a Requirement of Indonesian President: Significances and Implications

Abstract

The Third Amendment to the 1945 Constitution stipulates that one of the requirements to become a presidential candidate is an Indonesian natural-born citizen who has never received another citizenship of his/her own volition. The requirement can create confusion and dissenting opinions to determine persons considered natural-born citizens and methods to prove it. This study explores the significances of determining a natural-born citizen as a requirement to become a presidential candidate and its implications. Through a socio-legal approach, this study concludes that the natural-born citizen requirement's significance is to eliminate racial discrimination from the previous requirement of a “native Indonesian” president and to ensure convincing allegiance from the president. There are some implications of the requirement. First, every Indonesian citizen born after the establishment of the Citizenship Law 2006, regardless of ethnic status, is called a natural-born citizen, including those from mixed marriages and having limited dual citizenship up to the age of 18 years. Meanwhile, for Indonesian citizens born before the Citizenship Law 2006, the natural-born citizen status is determined based on Law 3 of 1946 and Law 62 of 1958, including Indonesia’s agreement with the Netherlands and China. Second, a natural-born citizen status mutatis mutandis should be a requirement of other constitutional positions, either executive, legislative, or judiciary, and to a presidential candidate’s husband or wife.