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View all search resultsDebate over legislative threshold reignites ahead of election law revision
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Lawmakers attend a House of Representatives plenary session on July 1 at the Senayan legislative complex in Central Jakarta. (Antara/Dhemas Reviyanto)
T
he renewed plan by the House of Representatives to revise the General Election Law has reignited debate over the legislative threshold, dividing political parties over whether it should be scrapped or strengthened.
The government and the House are preparing changes to the law governing presidential and legislative elections, aiming to strengthen the country’s electoral system and enforce a series of Constitutional Court rulings that have remained unaddressed.
One key ruling, issued in 2024, ordered a “recalculation” of the prevailing 4 percent national vote threshold that political parties must meet to secure seats in the House, with changes set to take effect in the next legislative election in 2029.
While formal deliberations have yet to begin, political parties, both represented and unrepresented in the legislature, have voiced differing opinions on whether the threshold should be lowered, raised or abolished entirely.
The National Mandate Party (PAN), currently holding the second-fewest seats in the House, was the first to raise the idea of scrapping the threshold requirement, arguing that the current system effectively excludes millions of votes from legislative representation.
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The pro-government party suggested adopting a model similar to regional legislatures, where smaller parties can form joint factions, while limiting the total number of factions through regulation to maintain parliamentary efficiency.
