KPD: Proposal to Apply Electoral Threshold to Regions Violates Constitutional Principles

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Watch for Elections and Democracy (KPD) has stated that the NasDem Party’s proposal to raise the parliamentary threshold (PT) to apply at the regional level contradicts constitutional principles. KPD Chairman Miftahul Arifin emphasised that the proposal goes against Constitutional Court (MK) Decision Number 52/PUU-X/2012, which explicitly states that the PT does not apply to provincial or regency/city DPRDs. “That decision affirms that the parliamentary threshold is only relevant for application to the DPR at the national level, not to regional representative bodies,” Miftahul said in his statement in Jakarta on Friday. According to him, implementing the PT at the regional level could eliminate valid voter voices and damage the principle of fair political representation. The MK Decision Number 52/PUU-X/2012, he said, should serve as a clear boundary for policymakers to avoid promoting regulations that contradict constitutional principles. “Because efforts to extend the threshold to DPRDs actually show a tendency to simplify politics administratively, without considering the impact on the quality of representation at the local level,” he stated. The MK, he continued, in its considerations stated that the political system at the regional level has different characteristics from the national level, so it cannot be uniformised through party simplification mechanisms like the PT. He said that social dynamics, cultural bases, and the configuration of local political forces demand more inclusive representation space so that public aspirations are not reduced by national simplification logic. “Therefore, applying the parliamentary threshold at the regional level has the potential to cause representational injustice and contradicts the principle of popular sovereignty guaranteed by the constitution,” he said. In addition, such a policy could hinder the growth of local leadership and stifle alternative political channels that have been an important part in maintaining democratic diversity in Indonesia. The MK decision has already provided a clear line: party simplification is allowed, but not at the expense of people’s representation in the regions. “When that boundary is crossed, what is at stake is not just the design of the electoral system, but the quality of democracy itself,” he revealed. He conveyed that the Constitutional Court Decision Number 116/PUU-XXI/2023 also emphasises the importance of maintaining a balance between simplifying the party system and protecting people’s voting rights. In that decision, he said, the MK in principle rejected making the threshold an instrument that excessively eliminates voter voices. “Therefore, we urge legislators to respect the MK’s decisions and not to force policies that risk eroding the political rights of the community at the local level,” Miftahul said.