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January 19, 2025 | 01:53 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian has instructed his staff to involve experts in studying the potential elimination of the 4% parliamentary threshold for national votes.
“I’ve directed my staff to conduct a focus group discussion (FGD) involving constitutional law experts and internal teams to evaluate the next steps,” said Tito at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Friday, January 17, 2025, as reported by Antara.
Tito stated that the FGD would assess the potential impact if the Constitutional Court (MK) abolishes the parliamentary threshold. The results will be further discussed in a coordination meeting with central government agencies, including the State Secretariat, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, and other relevant institutions. “Only then will we bring our conclusions to the House of Representatives (DPR),” he added.
Previously, Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra indicated that the MK could annul the 4% parliamentary threshold.
“Following the decision to abolish the presidential threshold, it’s likely the MK will also overturn the parliamentary threshold, which has been a contentious issue for political parties,” Yusril said in Denpasar on Monday, January 13, 2025.
The MK recently ruled to abolish the 20% presidential threshold for nominating presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Yusril, a constitutional law expert, argued that this ruling sets a precedent for eliminating the parliamentary threshold.
“The decision gives hope to political parties, paving the way for a healthier democracy where more parties can gain representation in the DPR,” Yusril explained, adding that small parties, including the Crescent Star Party (PBB), could benefit significantly.
Following the MK decision, Yusril noted that the government must formulate new political norms based on the binding MK ruling. These norms would guide future elections, including legislative and presidential elections, without any threshold requirements.
“The government should honor the ruling with open minds and adjust the political framework accordingly,” he said.
Yusril suggested that parties with fewer parliamentary seats could form joint factions to streamline representation. “In my opinion, it’s better to limit the number of factions in the DPR to 10. If a party secures less than 10%, they can form a joint faction,” he proposed.
On February 29, 2024, the MK ruled that the 4% parliamentary threshold in Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections contradicts the principles of popular sovereignty, electoral fairness, and legal certainty guaranteed by the Constitution.
The ruling declared the threshold constitutional only for the 2024 legislative elections, with a conditional status for 2029 and subsequent elections.
In a separate decision on January 2, 2025, the MK officially annulled the presidential threshold stipulated in Article 222 of Law No. 7 of 2017. Chief Justice Suhartoyo stated that the provision violated the 1945 Constitution and had no binding legal force.
Justice Saldi Isra emphasized that the threshold violated morality, rationality, and fairness, justifying the court’s departure from its earlier stance.
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