Jakarta – The Constitutional Court (MK) has abolished the 20% parliamentary seat presidential threshold rule challenged by four students from Yogyakarta. So, what exactly is the presidential threshold?
The presidential threshold is the minimum percentage of votes a political party must secure to nominate a presidential and vice-presidential candidate. This threshold was stipulated in Article 222 of Law No. 7 of 2017.
The article reads:
“Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates are proposed by Political Parties or Coalitions of Political Parties participating in elections that meet the requirements of obtaining at least 20% (twenty percent) of the total DPR seats or obtaining 25% (twenty-five percent) of the national valid votes in the previous legislative elections.”
The implementation of the presidential threshold is further regulated in Articles 223, 224, and 225 of the same law.
In the decision on Case No. 62/PUU-XXI/2023, announced at the Constitutional Court building in Central Jakarta on Thursday (January 2), the court granted the petitioners’ request. As a result, all political parties participating in elections now have the opportunity to propose presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the upcoming election.
This means that even political parties without at least 20% of DPR seats or 25% of the national valid votes from the previous legislative election can nominate presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Historically, challenges to the presidential threshold rule have often ended unsuccessfully in the Constitutional Court. Of 36 lawsuits submitted to abolish the presidential threshold, this is the first to succeed.
In its ruling, the MK declared that all political parties participating in elections are eligible to propose presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The decision was read by Chief Justice Suhartoyo.
“Declares that the norm of Article 222 of Law No. 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections (State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia Year 2017 No. 182, Supplement to the State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia No. 6109) is contrary to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and is no longer legally binding,” Suhartoyo stated.
Court’s Consideration
The court argued that the threshold requirement for nominating candidates has proven ineffective in reducing the number of political parties participating in elections. It also favored political parties with parliamentary representation.
“In this context, it is difficult for political parties to formulate thresholds without facing conflicts of interest,” stated Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra.
Saldi further noted that the existing threshold provision tends to limit presidential elections to only two candidates, leading to societal polarization.
“If this regulation persists, presidential elections may eventually result in a single candidate,” he added.
He cited regional election trends, which increasingly feature single candidates or elections against a “blank box,” as examples of this phenomenon.
Saldi explained that any political party declared as an election participant can propose presidential and vice-presidential candidates. After five presidential elections, the MK has deemed the threshold unnecessary as a prerequisite for nominating candidates.
Saldi emphasized that in several presidential elections, the dominance of certain political parties in proposing candidates has restricted voters’ constitutional rights to adequate alternatives.
The MK also advised the DPR and the government to revise Law No. 7 of 2017, removing the threshold requirement. Saldi suggested penalties for political parties that fail to nominate candidates, such as barring them from participating in the next presidential election.
“The nomination of presidential and vice-presidential candidates by political parties or coalitions of political parties participating in elections should not be based on the percentage of DPR seats or national valid votes,” he said.
For example, if there are 30 participating political parties, there is the potential for 30 presidential and vice-presidential candidates to be proposed.
Dissenting Opinion
The decision to abolish the threshold was not unanimous. Two justices, Anwar Usman and Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh, expressed dissenting opinions.
