PAN's Response to Yusril's Proposal on Parliamentary Threshold: Not Necessarily Satisfying

Yusril’s proposal is interesting and warrants further discussion. Therefore, a stronger and more rational justification is needed as a tool for legitimisation. Political parties certainly need a formulation that benefits all parties,” said Saleh to reporters on Thursday (30/4/2026).

Saleh assessed that if the basis for determining the Parliamentary Threshold (PT) is solely linked to the number of commissions in the DPR, it may not satisfy all parties. This is because the number of commissions can change in each period.

“If the basis is the number of commissions, it may not satisfy all parties. Because, in the 2024 election, there were 13 commissions; who knows, the next election might have 14 or 15. Or it could even drop back to 10 or 11,” he stated.

“Moreover, there must be arguments that provide a complete picture of the relationship between the number of commissions and the parliamentary threshold. Especially since it is mentioned that if they cannot obtain 13 seats, small parties can join together to form one faction. Or even, those parties can join larger parties,” he continued.

According to him, determining the parliamentary threshold is not easy. He noted that there will be many interests involved.

“That is why many parties are pushing for the discussion of the Election Law Bill to begin soon. To make it faster and more effective, the discussion of the Election Law Bill is hoped to be a government initiative,” he said.

According to him, Yusril can discuss this matter internally within the government. This includes discussions on the electoral system up to vote conversion.

“If the government takes the initiative, the debate at the parliamentary level will be somewhat softer. The parties will not start from scratch. Everyone just needs to find points of agreement from each faction’s DIM,” he explained.

Previously, Yusril proposed that the number of commissions in the DPR RI be used as the threshold for political parties participating in the legislative elections. He proposed that each political party must obtain at least 13 seats in the DPR RI because there are 13 commissions in the DPR RI.

“For example, what is used as the reference is actually how many commissions there are in the DPR. Now, that is regulated in the standing orders; it should be regulated in the law,” said Yusril, as quoted by Antara on Thursday (30/4/2026).

He stated that parties that cannot reach 13 seats can form a joint coalition that also consists of at least 13 seats or more. In addition, they can also join the faction of a larger party.

“In this way, no votes are lost, and it is fair enough for all of us,” he said.

The proposal emerged while the DPR is still discussing revisions to the Election Law. The revision process itself is still ongoing, and the issue of the parliamentary threshold is one of the sensitive issues.