Constitutional Court Decides Amendment To Parliamentary Threshold Applicable In 2029 Election, Cak Imin: It Must Be So

Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Suhartoyo read out the verdict for the review of the Law on Parliamentary threshold rules, Thursday (29/02) (doc MK)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) Muhaimin Iskandar (Cak Imin) welcomed the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) which stated that the amendment to the parliamentary threshold of 4 percent is valid in the 2029 election. "That has to be the case, the rules for the upcoming elections, 5 new years have been prepared. Not when the new election is made a rule," said Cak Imin when met in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, Friday, March 1. According to the candidate for vice president number 1, changes to regulations regarding elections should be determined long before the implementation of the democratic contestation itself. That is why, when the Constitutional Court issued a decision that allowed regional heads under the age of 40 to advance as presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the near future with the registration of the 2024 presidential election, it drew criticism from many parties. "It's always our criticism of the Constitutional Court is that we decide the rules in the middle of the ongoing game. Yes, many times there are many rules that appear at the end. The rules regarding elections (should) be prepared early," explained Cak Imin. It is known, this decision is related to the judicial review submitted by Needdem. The petitioner questioned Article 414 paragraph (1) of the Election Law which stated that “ Political Party Participants in the Election must meet the threshold for vote acquisition of at least 4% (four percent) of the number of valid votes nationally to be included in determining the seat acquisition of DPR members ”. The Constitutional Court in its decision stated that the norm of Article 414 paragraph 1 of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning Elections is constitutional as long as it remains valid for the 2024 DPR Election and conditional constitutional to be enforced in the 2028 DPR Election and the next election as long as changes to parliamentary threshold norms and the number or percentage of parliamentary thresholds have been made. “Based on the decision of the Constitutional Court Number 116/PPU-XXI/2023, the norm of Article 414 paragraph 1 of Law 7,2017 has a new meaning that has been in effect since the decision of the Constitutional Court Number 116/PUU-XXI/2023,” reads the Constitutional Court's legal considerations.

The Constitutional Court has decided that the parliamentary threshold of 4 percent must be changed before the 2029 election. The Constitutional Court explained that the a quo norm, namely the 4 percent parliamentary threshold, still applies to the 2024 election, but in substance the a quo norm has undergone a change in meaning.