Expert: Petition to Ban Family Members of the President from Running in Presidential Elections Should be Considered by the Constitutional Court
Amidst discussions on revising the Election Law, a lawsuit has been filed with the Constitutional Court (MK), sparking serious debate regarding the constitutionality of allowing family members of the President or Vice President to run in presidential and vice-presidential elections.
The petition requests that individuals with blood or marital relations with the current President or Vice President be prohibited from running as presidential or vice-presidential candidates, as it is considered potentially leading to conflicts of interest.
Titi Anggraini, an expert in Electoral Law from the University of Indonesia, believes that the petition has a solid basis for argument and should be considered constitutionally. She highlights that family ties with the incumbent often lead to serious problems in electoral democracy.
“Many cases show that family relationships often go hand in hand with deviations and abuses of power, including the mobilization of state resources, the lack of neutrality of the authorities, and the distortion of the competitive arena,” Titi told reporters on Thursday (February 26).
According to her, this petition should be seen as an effort to maintain a level playing field, not as an arbitrary restriction of political rights.
“The goal is not to restrict rights, but to ensure that political competition is based on ideas, not on the privileges of power. In that context, I believe this petition has a solid basis for argument that deserves constitutional consideration,” Titi explained.
Titi believes that the timing of this petition is crucial, given that the revision of the Election Law is underway and the election stages will soon begin.
“Constitutional certainty is important so that lawmakers do not formulate norms that could potentially lead to conflicts of interest, unfair competition, or delegitimization of the electoral process in the future,” she said.
She emphasized that whatever decision the MK makes will be an important reference for the design of future election laws.
“The MK’s decision, whatever its form, will be an important reference for the design of election laws and will also ensure that the principles of fair competition and electoral integrity are maintained,” Titi said.
Furthermore, Titi believes that the current legal framework is not strong enough to prevent political nepotism, especially because there is no explicit regulation that anticipates conflicts of interest based on family power relations.
Moreover, according to her, the system of cadre and political recruitment within parties is not fully democratic. This makes the reproduction of power based on kinship very open.
“This situation is very risky. In several regional elections, competition has shifted from merit and ideas to the privilege of access to power,” she said.
In the long term, this is considered to be able to weaken the internal democracy of the party, narrow the circulation of elites, and reduce the quality of political representation.
“Therefore, the debate about the limitations on conflicts of interest of incumbent family members should be placed in the context of maintaining fair competition, strengthening the democratization of parties, and protecting the right of citizens to obtain a truly competitive, free, fair, and democratic election,” Titi emphasized.
Previously, the petition was filed by Raden Nuh and Dian Amalia and has been registered with the Constitutional Court under Case Number 81/PUU-XXIV/2026. The petitioners are challenging Article 169 of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections, which regulates the requirements for presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
They request that the article be declared inconsistent with the 1945 Constitution to the extent that it does not stipulate that presidential and/or vice-presidential candidates must be free from conflicts of interest arising from family relations with the President or Vice President who is currently serving in the same term of office. (P-4)