Constitutional Court Rejects Lawsuit Challenging Minimum Education Requirement for DPR Candidates

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Constitutional Court (MK) has rejected a petition for a judicial review of the education requirements for legislative candidates, which sought to mandate a minimum of a Master’s degree.

The MK assessed that the petition submitted by Ardi Usman was vague because it did not contain clear legal arguments regarding the conflict between the rules in the Election Law and the 1945 Constitution.

“The description in the petitioner’s statement mainly cites links or web pages without clearly outlining the legal arguments that can clearly and adequately demonstrate the conflict between the norm in Article 240 paragraph (1) letter e of Law 7/2017 and the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia,” said Deputy Chairman of the MK, Saldi Isra, while reading out the court’s legal considerations, quoted on Friday (15/6/2026).

“Based on the facts and legal considerations, there is no doubt for the Court to state that the petitioner’s petition is unclear or vague,” said Saldi.

Therefore, Chairman of the MK, Suhartoyo, stated that petition number 124/PUU-XXIV/2026 could not be accepted.

The petitioner also compared the education levels of members of parliament in several countries.

In the petition, it was mentioned that members of parliament in Iran, Ukraine, and Poland all have at least a Master’s degree.

Through its petition, the Petitioner requested that the MK declare Article 240 paragraph (1) letter e of the Election Law to be in conflict with the 1945 Constitution, unless it is interpreted as “having at least a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.”

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