MK Suggests Changing Parliamentary Threshold Rules Before the 2029 Election

The Constitutional Court (MK) assessed that the parliamentary threshold of 4 percent of valid national votes as regulated in the Election Law is contrary to the principles of electoral fairness and violates legal certainty. The MK recommends that these regulations be changed before the 2029 elections are held. This was stated in the decision in case number 116/PUU-XXI/2023 submitted by the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem).

“Declaring that the norms of Article 414 paragraph (1) of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning general elections are constitutional as long as they remain valid for the 2024 DPR elections and are conditionally constitutional to apply to the 2029 DPR elections and subsequent elections as long as changes have been made to the parliamentary threshold norms,” said Chief Justice Suhartoyo when reading the decision at the Constitutional Court Building, Jakarta (29/2).

In its considerations, the Court agreed with Tulisem regarding the absence of a basis for determining the parliamentary threshold of 4%. The MK said the law never regulates how to determine the threshold, but the threshold percentage is always increased. Apart from that, the Constitutional Court considered that even though the constitutionality of the parliamentary threshold figure that was to be tested was at least 4%, in substance, the petitioner was also trying to test the constitutionality of the threshold regime in the general election of members of the DPR.

“The Court found no basis for rationality in determining the figure or percentage of at least 4 percent as intended using clear calculation methods and arguments or rationality,” said Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Saldi Isra.

Apart from that, Saldi also said that the parliamentary threshold has a clear impact on the conversion of valid votes into the number of DPR seats, which is related to the proportionality of election results. Apart from that, the parliamentary threshold also has an impact on voters’ constitutional rights, which have been used by voters in elections to be forfeited or not counted for reasons of simplification of political parties.

The Court handed over changes to the parliamentary threshold rules to the legislators by paying attention to sustainable design, which must be completed before the start of the 2029 general election. The Constitutional Court also emphasized involving all groups who have an interest in the implementation of elections, including political parties participating in the elections who do not have representatives. in the DPR.

Previously, Peludem challenged the parliamentary threshold of 4% to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the determination of the threshold was not based on a clear calculation. Tulisdem proposed a calculation method using the formula of dividing the number 75 percent by the average of the number of electoral districts, plus one, and multiplying by the root of the number of electoral districts. []