Commission II: Constitutional Court ruling protects women's political constitutional rights

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Commission II, M. Rifqinizamy Karsayuda, stated that Constitutional Court ruling No. 128/PUU-XXIV/2026 safeguards women’s political constitutional rights in legislative elections. “As Chairman of Commission II of the House of Representatives, I appreciate and respect the Constitutional Court’s ruling. The ruling provides constitutional protection for women’s political rights, particularly in candidate nominations,” said Rifqi in a voice message received in Jakarta on Tuesday. According to him, the ruling reinforces the existing 30% female representation quota stipulated in Law No. 7 of 2017 on Elections, by imposing additional penalties for political parties failing to meet the requirement. “This is positive for our future electoral blueprint, which is more gender-progressive and supports feminist movements within our political landscape,” he added. The Constitutional Court ruled on Monday (25 May) that political parties failing to meet the 30% female representation requirement in legislative elections will be disqualified from contesting. The Court stated that Article 245 of the Election Law, which did not specify penalties for political parties failing to meet the female representation quota, contravened constitutional principles including popular sovereignty, fair and honest elections, and legal certainty. In the ruling, the Court declared the article unconstitutional unless interpreted as: candidate lists under Article 243 must include at least 30% female representation, and if this quota is not met, the General Elections Commission (KPU), provincial KPU, and district/city KPU must disqualify the political party from the electoral contest in the respective district. Furthermore, the Court viewed the 30% female representation quota as an affirmative action policy. The provision was deemed a form of positive discrimination to balance gender representation in government. Separately, the Court upheld previous rulings on female representation, including Case No. 125-01-08-29/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXII/2024 concerning a 2024 legislative election dispute in Gorontalo’s Electoral District 6. In that ruling, the Court found several political parties had failed to meet the 30% female quota. It had previously stated that if a party fails to meet the requirement, the KPU must disqualify it from contesting in the specific electoral district. Based on these considerations, the Court stressed that strict sanctions must be imposed on parties failing to meet the 30% female quota. To enforce Article 245 of the Election Law, KPU at all levels must disqualify parties from districts where the quota is not met. “This reinforcement is necessary to uphold the principle of popular sovereignty in fair electoral contests, thereby reducing discrimination against women’s representation in the House of Representatives and regional legislatures,” the Court stated in its reasoning.