Mahfud MD: DPR Free to Set Size of the Parliamentary Threshold

JAKARTA — Former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD has said that the determination of the size of the parliamentary threshold is entirely the prerogative of the DPR. He explained that in Indonesia’s constitutional system, there is no fixed standard for the threshold because it sits within what he calls open legal policy.

‘The elections use a threshold, and its magnitude is, in fact, open legal policy. In other words, it is an open policy ,’ he said. ‘The choice of legal policy is open. It is a matter of how much to set; it is up to the DPR,’ he said at the Parliamentary Threshold Seminar quoted from YouTube osotvchannel, on Wednesday (4/3/2026).

‘There is no fixed figure. If you set it at one per cent, there will surely be protests. Because previously there was even a one per cent in the second election in 2004,’ he said.

Mahfud explained that the threshold figure had previously changed from 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent, then 3.5 per cent, and now 4 per cent.

However, such changes were more the result of political consensus than measured academic considerations.

‘Law is the consensus of its framers. The law is a product of the resultante, as the theory says. If the consensus is like that, then that is binding. But the consensus should be rational,’ he said.

He also mentioned proposals to raise the threshold to 7 per cent, as once urged by the NasDem Party.

‘But what is the reason? There isn’t one. It’s just a consensus,’ Mahfud said.

Nevertheless, Mahfud assessed that the momentum to revise the Election Law remains an opportunity for any proposals on the parliamentary threshold.

Earlier reports noted that the idea of changing the parliamentary threshold emerged in line with the plan to revise the Election Law by the DPR.

Several political parties hold different views on the threshold size to be proposed in the revision of the Election Law, ranging from removal, retention, to alteration.

NasDem Party, for example, proposed raising the parliamentary threshold to 7 per cent. However, that proposal was seen as too high by several other parties.