PAN Proposes Abolishing Parliamentary Threshold, Citing Millions of Lost Valid Votes

PAN Deputy Chairman Viva Yoga Mauladi has responded to NasDem Party Chairman Surya Paloh’s proposal to set the parliamentary threshold at seven per cent, arguing that the ideal threshold should be zero per cent — effectively abolishing it altogether.

“Every party naturally has its own views. That is logical and perfectly reasonable. PAN always adheres to electoral laws, principles, and norms,” Viva told reporters on Tuesday (24/2/2026).

“What is the ideal parliamentary threshold figure? Since the Constitutional Court has ruled that the parliamentary threshold is an open legal policy, if we want perfection, the threshold should be abolished — set at zero per cent,” he continued.

According to Viva, the higher the parliamentary threshold and the greater the number of participating parties, the more disproportionate the system becomes due to diminished representational value.

“More and more valid national votes cannot be converted into seats — they simply vanish, swallowed by the waves. Many parties contesting elections fail to clear the threshold, causing their valid votes to be lost,” he said.

Viva provided historical data to illustrate his point. In the 2009 general election, with a threshold of 2.5 per cent, some 19,047,481 valid national votes — approximately 18 per cent of the total — could not be converted into seats. In the 2014 election, with a 3.5 per cent threshold, the figure was 2,964,975 lost votes, or 2.4 per cent.

“Then in the 2019 election, with a four per cent threshold, 13,595,842 votes were lost, representing 9.7 per cent of valid national votes. And most recently, in the 2024 election, also at four per cent, 16,105,152 votes were lost — 10.6 per cent of valid national votes,” he explained.

“One can only imagine that a seven per cent threshold would cause an even greater number of valid votes to be lost, as they cannot be converted into seats. Elections would become increasingly disproportionate, undermining their integrity, quality, and the very sovereignty of the people,” he added.

Viva suggested that concerns about political fragmentation in the House of Representatives could be addressed through coalition mechanisms in the formation of parliamentary factions.

“This would serve as a democratic solution without undermining the value of popular sovereignty, whilst ensuring stable governance,” he said.

Surya Paloh had previously stated that NasDem would remain consistent in pushing for the parliamentary threshold to be raised to seven per cent, arguing it would be far more effective.

“I think NasDem should just stay consistent on this matter. Unless there are truly significant changes. In any case, NasDem honestly believes that if we could shift from a multi-party system to a selected party system, it would be far more effective — both for maintaining governmental stability and for realising the benefits of the democratic freedoms we possess,” Paloh said at NasDem Tower in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Saturday (21/2).

Paloh also raised concerns about the proliferation of political parties, questioning the purpose of democracy if it does not deliver tangible benefits.

“This should give us pause for reflection. We have been too elated by the sheer number of political parties, all in the name of democracy itself. But on the other hand, what use is democracy if it does not bring real benefit and consistency towards the ideals of our independence? Our capability, effectiveness, reasoning, intellectualism, and morality must move ever closer towards our shared objectives,” he said.