PKB Elites Welcome Constitutional Court's 30% Female Candidate Quota Ruling in Elections
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - PKB Deputy Chairperson Nihayatul Wafiroh has welcomed Constitutional Court ruling No. 128/PUU-XXIV/2026, which enforces a 30% quota for female candidates in the House of Representatives (DPR) and regional legislatures (DPRD) during general elections.
According to her, the ruling enables women’s rights in parliament to be advanced through legislation and policy.
“The greater the representation of women in parliament, the higher the chance that their aspirations and rights can be effectively advocated,” Nihayatul stated on Tuesday (26 May 2026).
As one of the election participants, Nihayatul said PKB has long implemented policies on female representation, which have been strengthened in each election cycle.
“PKB welcomes the Constitutional Court’s ruling on female representation. In practice, this commitment has long been upheld by PKB and continues to be reinforced across elections,” she added.
Despite the court’s ruling, she emphasised that female representation must become part of public awareness.
“Public awareness of the importance of female representatives in parliament must be a collective movement. It is not enough for political parties alone to shoulder this responsibility; broader public support is also needed,” said the Deputy Chair of Commission IX of the DPR.
It is known that the Constitutional Court has stipulated penalties for political parties that fail to meet the 30% female candidate quota when submitting candidates for the DPR, provincial DPRD, and regency/city DPRD in elections.
In the partially granted Constitutional Court ruling No. 128/PUU-XXIV/2026, the court added that the General Election Commission (KPU) at all levels can disqualify political parties that do not meet the minimum 30% female candidate requirement.
“Given that penalties for political parties participating in elections have been effectively enforced, to ensure the spirit of Article 28H paragraph 2 of the 1945 Constitution is fully realised in the candidate lists for DPR/DPRD members, political parties failing to meet the 30% female candidate quota must face strict sanctions,” said Constitutional Court Justice Adies Kadir while reading the court’s considerations on Monday (25 May 2026).
Adies explained that this clarification is necessary to uphold the principle of popular sovereignty in fair electoral competition.
“Thus, the regulation on candidate lists containing at least 30% female representation under Article 245 of Law No. 7/2017 must be interpreted and supplemented with sanctions for political parties to be disqualified or stricken from the election contest in constituencies that fail to meet the requirements, as stipulated in the ruling,” Adies said.