politic

The Constitutional Court's Decision Has Prompted The Government To Consider Limiting Party Coalitions For The Nomination Of Presidential Candidates

The Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, has affirmed that the government will comply with the Constitutional Court's ruling that abolishes the presidential threshold. Yusril indicated that the government plans to amend Article 222 of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections, which stipulates that presidential candidates must be proposed by political parties or coalitions that secure at least 20 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives. "It is certain that the government will revise Article 222 and introduce a new article, thereby allowing the 2029 Presidential Election to proceed without a threshold," Yusril stated after attending a legal journalists' event in Central Jakarta on January 17, 2025.  

Yusril elaborated that the Constitutional Court has established the criteria for candidate nominations in the 2029 Presidential Election, emphasizing that no political party or coalition should dominate the nomination process. "For instance, if there are 30 political parties and 29 form a coalition, it would result in only two candidates. Alternatively, if one party monopolizes the nominations, that would also be problematic. The Constitutional Court has ruled against such dominance, but if all parties are allowed to nominate freely, it is unlikely that there would be 30 pairs of candidates," Yusril explained.  

Consequently, Yusril conveyed that the government is considering how to adhere to the Constitutional Court's decision by potentially instituting a maximum limit on candidate nominations. "We are contemplating various approaches, such as allowing parties to form coalitions but limiting the maximum coalition size to 20 percent. This way, if all parties were to unite, there would be a maximum of five pairs of candidates," Yusril noted. "However, without a regulated maximum for nominations, it could lead to only two pairs, with 29 parties joining one and a single party refusing to cooperate, thus still being able to propose a candidate. Therefore, we are currently exploring the best way to address this issue," he added. 

Tag: Yusril Ihza Mahendra