Deputy Chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Viva Yoga\nMaulana, has assessed that proposals to raise the parliamentary\nthreshold could create injustice, as more ballots would fail to convert\ninto party seats. Viva expressed this during a regional working meeting\nbriefing for PAN\u2019s central and local executives in Surabaya, East Java,\non Sunday, 10 May 2026.<\/p>\n
According to him, raising the parliamentary threshold above 4 per\ncent would eliminate opportunities for several parties to secure seats\nin the House of Representatives (DPR). He deemed this unfair, as parties\nthat fail would still receive votes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe higher the threshold, the more disproportionate the election\nbecomes and the lower its representational value,\u201d Viva stated in a\nwritten release on Monday, 11 May 2026.<\/p>\n
The event also featured PAN Chairman and Coordinating Minister for\nFood Affairs Zulkifli Hasan, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar\nParawansa, Deputy Governor of East Java Emil Dardak, and PAN Secretary\nGeneral Eko Hendro Purnomo or Patrio.<\/p>\n
Viva described arguments for raising the parliamentary threshold to\nsimplify the party system as contrived. The Deputy Minister of\nTransmigration disagreed that an increase would prevent fragmentation of\nDPR factions.<\/p>\n
On the contrary, he believes that diversity of parties in parliament\ncould provide more perspectives in managing field issues. \u201cDynamics,\neven bickering in the DPR, are normal. In fact, when there is dynamics\nin the DPR, it is seen as a way to prevent horizontal conflicts in\nsociety,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Viva emphasised that PAN proposes lowering the parliamentary\nthreshold, rather than raising it. The same proposal was previously made\nby PAN Deputy Chairman Eddy Soeparno, who wants the threshold lowered to\n0 per cent.<\/p>\n
In 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled to abolish the 4 per cent\nparliamentary threshold provision that had been regulated in Law No.\u00a07\nof 2017 on Elections. The constitutional judges agreed that the\nthreshold provision was inconsistent with the principles of popular\nsovereignty, electoral justice, and violated legal certainty guaranteed\nby the constitution.<\/p>\n
The Court stated that the provision in Article 414 paragraph 1 of the\nElection Law, which still sets the parliamentary threshold at 4 per\ncent, remains conditionally constitutional for use in the 2024 election.\n\u201cConditionally constitutional to be applied in the 2029 DPR election and\nsubsequent elections provided that amendments have been made,\u201d said MK\nChief Justice Suhartoyo.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, CSIS Political Department Head Arya Fernandes proposed\nthat lawmakers gradually lower the parliamentary threshold over the next\ntwo general elections. \u201cFirst, lower it from 4 per cent to 3.5 per cent\nin the 2029 election, applicable at the national and regional levels,\u201d\nhe said during a public hearing on revisions to the Election Law at\nCommission II of the Jakarta House of Representatives on Tuesday, 20\nJanuary 2026.<\/p>\n
Then, the parliamentary threshold is proposed to be lowered again for\nthe 2034 election to 3 per cent. Thus, this gradual reduction is\nexpected to facilitate decision-making to avoid legislative deadlock\nwhile ensuring a degree of representation.<\/p>\n
Additionally, he stated that electoral science does not recognise a\nuniversally ideal threshold. Arya said there is no global consensus on\nthe size of the parliamentary threshold.<\/p>\n
He explained that setting a threshold that is too low or too high\ncarries its own risks. A threshold that is too low, he said, risks\ncausing an extreme multi-party system in the legislature.<\/p>\n
Whereas if it is too high, it could reduce the level of\nrepresentation and increase the number of wasted votes. Arya assessed\nthat a 3.5 per cent parliamentary threshold could reduce the number of\nvotes that do not convert into seats.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pan-raising-the-parliamentary-threshold-creates-injustice-1778471570", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }