Constitutional Court Rules Political Parties Disqualified in Electoral Districts Failing 30% Female Candidate Quota

The Constitutional Court (MK) has partially granted a petition concerning the material review of Article 245 of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections regarding the 30% female candidate quota in legislative elections. The ruling was read by MK Chief Justice Suhartoyo during the verdict hearing for the election law material review case. In the ruling, the Constitutional Court stated that Article 245 of Law No. 7 of 2017 conflicts with the 1945 Constitution and is conditionally unenforceable unless interpreted as: ‘The list of candidates referred to in Article 243 must include at least 30% female representation, and if this 30% quota is not met, the General Election Commission (KPU), provincial KPU, and regency/city KPU must disqualify or exclude the political party from the relevant electoral district.’ ‘The ruling was partially granted for the petitioners,’ said Suhartoyo on Monday, 25 May 2026. The material review petition was filed by four women: Maya Novita Sari (Petitioner I), Imas Dion Febriani (Petitioner II), Cahya Camila (Petitioner III), and Fatati Nailul Munadia (Petitioner IV). The petitioners argued that the lack of strict sanctions for political parties failing to meet the 30% female candidate quota, as stipulated in Article 245 of the Election Law, has created legal uncertainty. In their petition (posita), the petitioners also cited Article 23(1) as a basis for challenge. They argued that using state funds to process party registrations despite failing the female representation requirement constitutes irresponsible use of national resources, conflicting with the principle of effective state management under Article 23(1) of the 1945 Constitution. During the preliminary hearing on 15 April 2025, the petitioners stated that Article 245 of the Election Law had proven to be a ‘lex imperfecta’ or ineffective norm. In practice, the Election Commission (KPU) continues to approve political parties that fail to meet the female quota in final candidate lists, merely issuing administrative warnings without disqualification sanctions. They cited instances in Trenggalek 2, Tulungagung 6, and Tulungagung 1 electoral districts where political parties fielded only male candidates, automatically failing the 30% female quota, yet their registrations were still accepted.