Democratic Party Examines Parliamentary Threshold Levels
The Democratic Party’s General Secretary, Herman Khaeron, stated that the party is still studying the appropriate parliamentary threshold level for the 2029 elections. In conducting this study, the Democratic Party will continue to reference Constitutional Court decisions as its foundation. “If someone proposes an increase or decrease, we naturally respect that,” Herman said at the Complex of the House of Representatives, People’s Consultative Assembly, and Regional Representative Council on Thursday, 26 February 2026.
The study of parliamentary threshold issues, he said, is important to find a middle ground. If the parliamentary threshold is high, the potential for wasted votes increases. However, if it is eliminated, there is potential for an extreme multi-party system that could trigger instability and reduce governmental effectiveness.
For this reason, the Democratic Party is still studying the ideal figure to propose as the parliamentary threshold for the 2029 elections. “Are there possibilities for an increase or decrease? Everything is possible as long as there is strong reasoning and basis,” said the Commission VI member of the House of Representatives.
On 4 February, Herman stated that the parliamentary threshold must remain in force in the elections. The reason is that the threshold functions as a party simplification mechanism. “However, in my view, the threshold should be somewhat reduced from what was previously set,” he said.
Last year, the Constitutional Court in case Number 116/PUU-XVIII/2023 decided to eliminate the 4 per cent parliamentary threshold stipulated in Law Number 7 of 2017 on Elections. In its legal reasoning, the Court believed that if the parliamentary threshold provision was inconsistent with the principle of people’s sovereignty, electoral fairness, and violated the legal certainty guaranteed by the constitution.
The Court continued that Article 414 paragraph (1) of the Election Law is constitutionally conditional to be enforced in the 2029 elections and onwards as long as changes have been made. Several political parties have proposed changes to the parliamentary threshold by referring to the Court’s decision. The National Mandate Party, for example, proposed elimination so that votes are not wasted.
Meanwhile, the National Democrat Party proposed an increase in the parliamentary threshold from 4 to 7 per cent for the 2029 elections. The reason is to maintain governmental stability.