Constitutional Court Rejects Petition to Bar President's and Vice-President's Family from Running for President or Vice-President
The Constitutional Court (MK) has rejected a material examination petition against Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections. The MK deemed the petition, which sought to prohibit blood or in-law relatives of the president or vice-president from running as presidential or vice-presidential candidates, unclear.
“The operative part of the decision rules that petition number 81/PUU-XXIV/2026 is inadmissible,” said MK Chief Justice Suhartoyo during the ruling session in the Plenary Courtroom of MK Building I, Central Jakarta, on Thursday (16/4/2026).
MK Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra explained the considerations in the ruling. Saldi stated that the petitioners’ petitum was unusual because it was contradictory.
“The formulation or construction of the new norm requested by the petitioners shows an ambiguous stance, between retaining the entire norm of Article 169 letters A to T of Law 7/2017 intact by adding new substance or new interpretation in the form of the phrase ‘and has no blood or in-law relationship with the President and/or Vice-President currently in office’,” Saldi explained.
“Such a formulation of the petitioners’ petitum is unusual because it formulates a petitum that is contradictory. Within reasonable reasoning, the Court cannot grant a petitum that is formulated as contradictory,” he continued.
On that basis, the MK declared the petitioners’ lawsuit unclear. The MK did not further consider the petition.
“Because the a quo petitions are unclear or vague or obscure, the Court does not further consider the petitioners’ petitions,” he said.
Previously, citizens named Raden Nuh and Dian Amalia filed a lawsuit against the Election Law with the MK. They requested that the MK prohibit blood or in-law relatives of the president or vice-president from running as presidential and/or vice-presidential candidates.
According to the MK’s official website on Wednesday (25/2), the petition was registered under case number 81/PUU-XXIV/2026. The two challenged Article 169 of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections.
The following is the content of the challenged article:
Article 169:
Requirements to become a presidential candidate and vice-presidential candidate are:
pious to the Almighty God;
Indonesian citizen by birth and has never acquired another citizenship by his or her own will;
the spouse of the presidential candidate and the spouse of the vice-presidential candidate is an Indonesian citizen;
has never betrayed the state and has never committed corruption crimes and other serious criminal offences;
spiritually and physically capable of carrying out the duties and obligations as president and vice-president and free from narcotics abuse;
residing in the territory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia;
has reported their wealth to the authorised agency for examining wealth reports of state officials;
is not currently in personal debt and/or corporate debt for which they are responsible that harms state finances;
is not currently declared bankrupt based on a court decision;
has never committed indecent acts;
is not currently nominated as a member of the DPR, DPD, or DPRD;
registered as a voter;
has a taxpayer identification number and has fulfilled tax payment obligations for the last 5 (five) years, evidenced by an annual income tax notice for individual taxpayers;
has not served as president or vice-president for 2 (two) terms in the same position;
loyal to Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika;
has never been imprisoned based on a court decision that has acquired final legal force for committing a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment of 5 (five) years or more;
at least 40 (forty) years old (amended by MK decision to: at least 40 (forty) years old or has held or is holding a position elected through general elections including regional head elections);
at least a high school graduate, madrasah aliyah, vocational high school, madrasah aliyah vocational, or equivalent education;
not a former member of the banned Indonesian Communist Party organisation, including its mass organisations, or a person directly involved in G.30.S/PKI; and
has a vision, mission, and programme in carrying out the government of the Republic of Indonesia.
The petitioners requested the MK to:
- Declare Article 169 of the Election Law contrary to the 1945 Constitution and has no binding legal force insofar as it is not interpreted that the requirements for presidential and/or vice-presidential candidacy must be free from conflicts of interest arising from blood or in-law relationships with the President and/or Vice-President currently in office within one term of power.