A lawsuit has emerged, requesting the Constitutional Court (MK) to\nprohibit family members of the President or Vice President from running\nas presidential or vice-presidential candidates. An election law expert\nstated that the lawsuit deserves consideration.<\/p>\n
Initially, Titi Anggraini, a lecturer in Election Law and\nConstitutional Law at the University of Indonesia, stated that kinship\nrelations with the incumbent often create serious problems. Many cases\nshow that family ties are often accompanied by deviations and abuses of\npower, including the mobilization of state resources, the lack of\nneutrality of the authorities, and the distortion of the competitive\narena.<\/p>\n
According to Titi, this lawsuit should be seen as an effort to ensure\nthat the competitive arena remains fair. The goal is not to restrict\nrights arbitrarily, but to ensure that political competition is based on\nideas, not on the privileges of power.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn that context, I see that this request has a basis for\nargumentation that deserves to be considered constitutionally,\u201d Titi\nexplained to reporters on Thursday (December 26, 2026).<\/p>\n
According to her, the urgency of the lawsuit prohibiting family\nmembers of the President and Vice President from running in the\nPresidential Election is very high, given that the Election Bill is\ncurrently being discussed, and the stages of the upcoming elections will\nalso begin soon. Constitutional certainty, according to Titi, is\nimportant so that lawmakers do not formulate norms that could\npotentially lead to conflicts of interest, unfair competition, or\ndelegitimization of the electoral process in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, the MK\u2019s decision, whatever form it takes, will be an\nimportant reference for the design of future election laws and will also\nensure that the principles of fair competition and electoral integrity\nare maintained,\u201d said Titi.<\/p>\n
Titi said that the current legal framework is not strong enough to\nprevent nepotism, especially because there is no regulation that\nexplicitly anticipates conflicts of interest arising from family power\nrelations with the incumbent. Moreover, with the cadre and political\nrecruitment system within parties not yet running democratically, the\nspace for the reproduction of power based on kinship becomes very\nopen.<\/p>\n
This situation, she explained, is very risky and in several regional\nelections has shifted competition from merit and ideas to privileged\naccess to power. In the long run, this will further weaken internal\nparty democracy, narrow the circulation of elites, and reduce the\nquality of political representation.<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, the debate about the limitations on conflicts of interest\nof incumbent family members should be placed in the context of\nmaintaining fair competition, strengthening the democratization of\nparties, and protecting the rights of citizens to obtain a truly\ncompetitive, free, fair, and democratic election,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Previously, a citizen named Raden Nuh and Dian Amalia filed a lawsuit\nagainst the Election Law with the Constitutional Court. They requested\nthat the MK prohibit family members of the President or Vice President\nfrom running as presidential and\/or vice-presidential candidates.<\/p>\n
As seen on the official MK website on Wednesday (February 25, 2026),\nthe lawsuit was registered with case number 81\/PUU-XXIV\/2026. The two\nare suing Article 169 of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning General\nElections.<\/p>\n
The petitioners requested that the MK:<\/p>\n