JPPR: Constitutional Court Ruling on 30% Quota Encourages Political Parties to Prioritise Female Cadre Development

The Steering Council of the People’s Voter Education Network (JPPR), Nurlia Dian Paramita, stated that the Constitutional Court’s ruling disqualifying political parties that fail to meet the 30% minimum female representation quota is a constitutional affirmation of women’s political affirmative action. “The essence of Constitutional Court Ruling No. 128/2026, which disqualifies political parties not meeting the 30% female quota, is a constitutional affirmation regarding the 30% women’s representation issue that previously caused controversy during the 2024 General Election,” Nurlia told Media Indonesia on Tuesday (26 May). She explained that the controversy arose from Article 8(1) and (2) of KPU Regulation No. 10/2023, which mandated rounding down when the female quota calculation resulted in a fraction below 50%. This regulation was subsequently annulled by Supreme Court Decision No. 24/P/HUM/2023 and reinforced by the Election Dispute Settlement (PHPU) Decision No. 125-01-08-29/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXI/2024. “Essentially, rounding up is applied for female representation quotas, as previously practiced in past elections,” she said. Nurlia added that disqualification penalties were already stipulated before, but were limited to rejecting the candidate list of political parties failing to meet the female representation requirements. “Therefore, Constitutional Court Ruling No. 128/2026 reinforces the previous practice. Although the wording states ‘disqualify’ or ‘not include’, the Election Commission (KPU) had previously returned the candidate list status for the relevant electoral district,” she explained. Meanwhile, Perludem (Association for Elections and Democracy) researcher Haykal hopes the Constitutional Court’s ruling will encourage political parties to take female cadre development more seriously. “The hope is that with strict sanctions following affirmative action rules, parties will be spurred to improve their efforts in developing female candidates,” Haykal said. He cautioned political parties against recruiting women solely to meet administrative candidacy requirements. “Do not recruit women merely to fulfil the requirement without considering their capabilities,” he added. Meanwhile, election law analyst Titi Anggraini viewed the ruling as a positive development for women in politics ahead of the 2029 election. “All parties should commend the Constitutional Court for reinforcing guarantees for women’s representation in legislative elections. This is crucial to ensure the constitutional commitment is not manipulated or disregarded by any party, including lawmakers, political parties, or election organisers,” Titi said. Previously, the Constitutional Court ruled that political parties failing to meet the 30% minimum female representation quota in DPR and DPRD candidacies may be disqualified in the relevant electoral districts. The ruling was announced during a plenary session of Case No. 128/PUU-XXIV/2026 at the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta on Monday (25 May). Constitutional Court Chief Suhartoyo stated that the Election Commission (KPU) at all levels must disqualify political parties not meeting the 30% female quota. “If the 30% minimum female representation requirement is not met, the KPU, Provincial KPU, and District/City KPU must disqualify or not include the political party in the relevant electoral district,” Suhartoyo said. The Constitutional Court also confirmed that the 30% female quota is mandatory, not voluntary. Constitutional Justice Guntur Hamzah stated that women’s affirmative action rules were initially optional under the 2003 Election Law due to the word “can” (“dapat”), but became compulsory from the 2009 election onwards. (H-2) Titi Anggraini assessed the ruling as a crucial step to ensure women’s representation is no longer treated as mere administrative formality in elections. According to Haykal, the Constitutional Court has already established a legal precedent through the 2024 election dispute settlement ruling for Gorontalo DPRD Electoral District 6.