Golkar Legislator Welcomes Constitutional Court Ruling on Mandatory 30% Female Quota

Golkar legislator Nurul Arifin has welcomed the Constitutional Court’s ruling reinforcing the mandatory 30% female representation quota for legislative candidates, stating that current female representation in parliament is not merely for administrative compliance. ‘For Golkar, female representation is not just about meeting a quota. It is part of the party’s democratic commitment to ensure public policies emerge from a more comprehensive and representative perspective,’ Nurul Arifin said in a statement on Thursday, 28 May 2026. Nurul Arifin noted that women’s presence in parliament has steadily increased. In the 1999 general election, female representation in the DPR stood at around 8.2%. This rose to 11.5% in 2004, then 18% in 2009, dipped slightly to 17.3% in 2014, before climbing to 20.5% in 2019. For the 2024-2029 DPR term, female members number 127 out of 580 total, or approximately 21.9%. ‘This demonstrates that Indonesian society is increasingly open to female leadership. Our political space is gradually becoming more inclusive,’ she added. As a member of the DPR’s Commission I, she stated that Golkar provides ample opportunities for women to contribute to politics. She believes that diverse perspectives in parliament will produce laws more attuned to societal needs. ‘In Golkar, women are given opportunities to lead. We see women heading committees, parliamentary bodies, and holding strategic positions within the party structure. This shows a meritocracy is being continuously built,’ Nurul said. ‘Of course, not all female politicians are inherently better than men. Politics remains about capacity, integrity, and leadership. But diverse perspectives in parliament enrich policy-making processes, making them more sensitive to public needs and more representative,’ she added. The Constitutional Court ruled that the requirement for at least 30% female representation in legislative candidates must be strictly adhered to. Parties failing to meet the 30% female candidate quota will be disqualified from the election in affected constituencies. The ruling was issued in Case No. 128/PUU-XXIV/2026 on Monday, 25 May. The petition was filed by Maya Novita Sari, Imas Dion Febriani, Cahya Camila Evanglin, and Fatati Nailul Munadia, who argued that Article 245 of Law No. 7/2017 on Elections was unconstitutional as it failed to specify sanctions for parties violating the quota. The ruling amended the wording of Article 245 of Law No. 7/2017 on Elections. The court stated: ‘Article 245 of Law No. 7/2017 on Elections is deemed unconstitutional under the 1945 Constitution and shall only be valid if interpreted as follows: the candidate list under Article 243 must include at least 30% female representation, and if this quota is not met, the General Election Commission (KPU), provincial KPU, and regency/city KPU shall disqualify or exclude the party from the election in the relevant constituency.’ Previously, the article read: ‘Article 245: The candidate list as referred to in Article 243 must include at least 30% female representation.’