Expert Says Revision of Election Law a Constitutional Necessity, Here's Why

University of Indonesia (UI) Election Law expert Titi Anggraini has stressed that revising Law Number 7 of 2017 on General Elections (Election Law) has become a legal necessity and an urgent constitutional task for the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Government. This is based on the fact that the Constitutional Court (MK) has granted 22 judicial review petitions that have changed the anatomy of the Election Law. Titi believes the numerous MK rulings mean the current state of Indonesian election law requires comprehensive rather than partial reform. Thorough changes are needed so that all court decisions can be accommodated harmoniously, holistically, and without overlap. “The lawmakers do not actually need to start from scratch because the constitutional architecture and structure of our election law have already been outlined by the MK. The task of the DPR and the Government now is to discuss the implementation aspects so that it is operative and can be carried out with quality,” Titi said during a public discussion titled “Postponement of the Election Law Revision and the Threat of Constitutional Defiance” held by Perludem in Jakarta on Sunday. Titi explained that there are at least two new regulations following the MK rulings that must be immediately followed up concretely by lawmakers in the latest revision draft. The first concerns the abolition of the Presidential Threshold. Based on MK Ruling Number 62/PUU-XXII/2024, the requirement of a minimum of 20 percent of DPR seats or 25 percent of the national valid vote has been officially removed. The MK stated that all political parties participating in the election are entitled to nominate candidate pairs. The DPR is now tasked with drafting technical regulations to prevent a monopoly or hoarding of support by certain political forces in order to guarantee a diversity of choices for the people. The second regulation concerns the reconstruction of the Parliamentary Threshold. Following up on MK Ruling Number 116/PUU-XXIII/2023, the 4 percent threshold figure only applies to the 2024 Election and must be changed for the next election. A new formula must be designed so as not to waste voters’ valid ballots, to reduce disproportionality of results, and to remain aligned with the spirit of simplifying the party system. Titi reminded that the discussion must not become unilateral consumption for the political elite in closed rooms involving only faction leaders or certain party chairpersons. She said that in its ruling, the MK ordered that the drafting of this new regulation must prioritise the principle of meaningful participation. The DPR is obliged to open the door for input and involve non-parliamentary political parties that do not have seats in the DPR RI, in addition to listening to the aspirations of civil society at large. Furthermore, Titi reminded the DPR that it must immediately move to discuss this Election Law Revision, especially since there has been no academic paper related to the law so far. Titi highlighted the slow movement of the DPR and the Government until mid-2026. She expressed concern over the political pragmatism between the legislative and executive branches ahead of the 2024 Election. On 9 March 2021, the DPR together with the Government and the Regional Representative Council (DPD) actually agreed to remove the Election Law Revision from the National Legislation Programme (Prolegnas) list. “Today’s situation, why is it a very strong constitutional warning for us? Besides the fact that we already have lessons learned ahead of 2024, how political pragmatism between the legislature and the president resulted in stagnation or the absence of legal reform, or the maintenance of the status quo in 2024, and we are starting to feel the symptoms,” she said.