PDIP Submits 6 Percent Parliament Threshold in the Revision of the Election Law

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) proposes a parliamentary threshold in the revision of the Election Law to be in the range of 5.5 to 6 percent or the equivalent of at least 38 seats in the House of Representatives.

Chairman of the DPP PDIP Said Abdullah assessed that the figure is more ideal to ensure the effectiveness of the political party's work in parliament, especially in carrying out the functions of legislation, supervision, and the budget.

"At least one party has two people in each commission and council equipment. That only makes sense to work optimally," said Said at the DPR/MPR Complex, Monday, May 4.

He explained that the calculation of 38 seats was based on the DPR structure consisting of a number of commissions and council equipment (AKD). With this number, each party is considered to have sufficient representation to actively participate in policy discussions.

This proposal is also a response to the discourse on a lower threshold, namely around 13 seats, which was previously conveyed by Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra. PDIP considers that the figure is not enough to reflect the political strength in parliament.

In addition to the central level, PDIP also encourages the implementation of thresholds in stages at all levels of legislation. Said proposed a threshold of 6 percent for the DPR, 5 percent for the provincial DPRD, and 4 percent for the district/city DPRD.

According to him, this tiered scheme is important to maintain the effectiveness of the legislative institution in the region and to facilitate the policy-making process.

"If there is no threshold in the region, it will make it difficult for the DPRD and the local government to work. There must be harmony from the center to the region," he said.

The discussion of the parliamentary threshold is one of the crucial issues in the revision of the Election Law, because it will greatly affect the national political configuration as well as the quality of people's representation in the legislative body.