PDIP: Ideally the DPR Should Have 5 or 6 Factions, Simulation Needed

NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh has proposed raising the parliamentary threshold to 7 per cent. In response, PDIP central board chairman Andreas Hugo Pareira said the increase warrants consideration in order to streamline the number of factions in parliament.

“Raising the parliamentary threshold needs to be considered to further simplify the number of parties entering parliament and make it more selective,” Andreas told reporters on Tuesday (24/2/2026).

According to Andreas, with fewer parties, factions in the House of Representatives (DPR) would have adequate membership strength — particularly given that concurrent positions for DPR members are no longer permitted.

“This is certainly intended so that parties entering parliament have sufficient membership numbers, and are thus ready to fill the DPR’s supplementary bodies,” he said.

Andreas explained that the current situation often forces DPR members to serve on multiple parliamentary bodies (AKD) due to limited faction membership. This, he said, diminishes their focus in carrying out constitutional duties.

“This would prevent a single member from holding concurrent positions across multiple parliamentary bodies, which causes members to lose focus in performing their constitutional duties,” he elaborated.

“Ideally, the DPR should comprise 5 or 6 factions, so simulations need to be conducted. Raising the parliamentary threshold needs to be a consideration, alongside more selective requirements for establishing new parties in accordance with the regulations set out in the Elections Law and the derivative regulations from the General Elections Commission (KPU),” he added.

Andreas said the size of the parliamentary threshold should not be decided unilaterally, but rather simulated beforehand.

“The figure should be simulated first. It could be the same, slightly more or slightly less than 7 per cent. But ideally there should be 5, or at most 6, parties. As for the people’s votes, there is no such thing as wasted votes — the public can still channel their votes through the parties that pass the threshold,” he said.

Surya Paloh had previously stated that NasDem would remain consistent in pushing for the parliamentary threshold to be raised to 7 per cent. Paloh considered a 7 per cent threshold far more effective.

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

Paloh then raised the issue of the large number of political parties, questioning the purpose of democracy if it does not deliver tangible benefits.

“So it should give us pause for reflection. We have been too enthusiastic about the multitude of political parties in the name of democracy itself. But on the other hand, what is the point of democracy if it does not bring practical benefit and consistency towards our independence ideals? Capability, effectiveness, reasoning, intellectualism and morality must move ever closer towards our shared objectives,” he said.