Former Constitutional Court Judge: Parliament's Threshold Must Not Waste the People’s Votes

Former Constitutional Court (MK) judge Arief Hidayat has stressed that the parliamentary threshold must be formulated with a core principle of proportionality, crucial to ensuring that the political system is not at the expense of voters’ voices. He explained that proportionality is necessary to maintain balance between creating government stability, the simplification of political parties, and the ease of decision-making in Parliament.

‘First, the MK emphasises the need for proportionality. The balance between creating government stability, the simplification of political parties, and the ease of decision-making because Parliament is simplified,’ he said in a speech at a seminar in Jakarta, on Tuesday night (3/3).

He referred to MK Decision No. 116/PUU-XXI/2023, which, he argues, reinforces that altering the formula should not erase voters’ legitimate voices. ‘It must not go so far as to discard many legitimate votes wasted in vain, because that would not align with the principles of popular sovereignty. That is Decision 116 of the Constitutional Court,’ he stated.

According to Arief, to realise a proportional mechanism in the upcoming election, the new formula must consider factors related to lawmaking, including political stability and the effectiveness of decision-making. ‘The factors of political stability, effectiveness of decision-making, and related factors must continue to be considered, and that is the sort of ruling the Constitutional Court desires,’ he said.

He added that changing the threshold formula is essentially simple: it aims to align the work of state institutions with a shared national vision and mission, even if it originates from different political party backgrounds. ‘Any party, the goal of its vision and mission in Parliament is the same there. Although broken down by each party’s vision and mission, the direction is the same. When I was in meetings with party leaders, with the President at the time, Mr Jokowi, we were all bound by the same vision and mission,’ he noted.

Arief also stressed the importance of synergy among state institutions without interfering with one another’s powers. ‘We may synergise, but we must not interfere with each other’s duties and powers. We may be fragmented within parties, but we must be statesmen,’ he said.

(IST) The Presidential Palace has confirmed the imminent swearing-in of Adies Kadir as a Constitutional Court judge within the next 1-2 days; Arief Hidayat hopes Adies Kadir will perform his duties.

Arief Hidayat officially retired from the MK. In his farewell speech, he reminded that power, office, and the career of constitutional judges have limits. He said he is not sad about retirement and warned of the danger if the MK is treated unfairly.

Adies Kadir has pledged to uphold the integrity of the constitutional judiciary.

Justice Saldi Isra questioned the rationale behind the different retirement ages for high-ranking officers from one- to four-star ranks.

The MK rejected a petition to test the parliamentary threshold as premature. The Court is awaiting a DPR revision ahead of the 2029 election.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) commented on the constitutional challenge to Article 169 of Law No. 7/2017 on General Elections (UU Pemilu) that was filed by two lawyers.

UI law expert Titi Anggraini says the suit calling for restrictions on the President’s family contesting the presidential election is important for maintaining fair competition and preventing nepotism.

The Electoral Law was challenged asking that the President and/or Vice President currently in office be barred from standing as presidential and/or vice-presidential candidates.

The preliminary examination hearing for the case was held on Thursday (4/2) and was led by MK Chief Suhartoyo, with Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah.”