PBB Criticises 5 Per Cent Parliamentary Threshold Proposal, Urges DPR to Avoid Arbitrary Figures

The discourse surrounding the proposal to increase the parliamentary threshold (PT) to 5 per cent, voiced by government coalition parties in the House of Representatives (DPR RI), has come under scrutiny. One of the critics is the Bulan Bintang Party (PBB).

The Acting Chairperson of PBB, Yuri Kemal Fadlullah, emphasised that there are two fundamental aspects that lawmakers must adhere to.

The first aspect is compliance with the Constitutional Court Decision Number 116/PUU-XXI/202lar, which mandates changes to the parliamentary threshold size for the 2029 General Election. Based on this ruling, Yuri reminded that determining the PT figure can no longer rely solely on political compromise or agreements. The established figure must possess a clear ‘ratio legis’ and a mathematical calculation basis to minimise the millions of wasted people’s votes.

Yuri revealed facts that during the 2019 General Election, approximately 13.5 million votes could not be converted into DPR seats. Ironically, this number of wasted votes surged to 17.3 million in the 2024 General Election.

“If the 5 per cent figure is chosen, the question is simple: why 5 per cent? What is the numerical basis? There must be a formula and a calculation basis that can explain that this figure does not instead increase the number of wasted votes that cannot be converted into seats. The determination of the threshold must not stop at an agreement on a number, but must be able to explain the rationality and numerical consequences,” Yuri stated in his briefing on Thursday, 17 September 2026.

The high number of wasted valid votes, Yuri continued, must serve as the primary foundation for the DPR in designing the new threshold.

“So the issue is not merely whether the threshold is 4 per cent or 5 per cent. What is more fundamental is where that number is derived from. There must be a numerical basis that can be tested and accounted for. If a figure is applied, it must also be possible to calculate how many people’s votes are potentially not converted into seats due to the application of that figure,