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View all search resultsAnalysis: How many political parties does Indonesia need? House decides
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Lawmakers attend a House of Representatives plenary session on July 1, 2025, at the Senayan legislative complex in Central Jakarta. (Antara/Dhemas Reviyanto)
W
hile Indonesia has a multiparty democracy, the General Elections Law limits the number of political parties that can serve in the House of Representatives through an electoral threshold, which sets the minimum number of votes a party must win to gain a seat in the House of Representatives. In the 2024 general election, eight of the 18 contesting political parties met this threshold, one party fewer than the previous polls.
Now major and minor political parties, whether they are part of the legislature or not, are debating once again whether to change the current threshold of 4 percent, with proposals ranging from zero to 8 percent for the next election in 2029.
Typically, big parties opt for either maintaining the status quo or imposing a higher threshold, which will likely lead to more parties being disqualified. Smaller parties including those without House seats, of which there are dozens, are meanwhile lobbying for a reduced threshold.
This is one of the most contentious points whenever the House reviews the elections law, which usually happens following the five-year electoral cycle. Since the issue is determined by the House, major parties will prevail, as they always do.
In the past, big parties have been cautious in setting the threshold, if only to help preserve multiparty representation in the House.
Parties with nationalist ideologies (as well as secular, although none would claim to be one) dominate the House, led by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), followed by the Golkar Party and the Gerindra Party.
A higher threshold could eliminate some Islamist parties. Last year, the United Development Party (PPP), one of the country’s oldest parties that has used an Islamic banner, failed to make it into the House for the first time, earning only 3.87 percent of national votes. Two other Islamist parties, the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), struggled to win more than 7 percent of votes. The National Awakening Party (PKB) was the only Islamist party to garner over 10 percent.
