MK Removes Presidential Threshold As It Is Considered Unethical And Unfair

The Constitutional Court has removed the 20 percent presidential and vice-presidential nomination threshold through its decision on case number 62/PUU-XXII/2024 regarding the Election Law No. 7 of 2017. In the ruling, Judge Saldi Isra stated that Article 222 of Law No. 7 of 2017, which sets this threshold, contradicts political rights and the sovereignty of the people, and also violates moral standards. "It also breaches morality, rationality, and represents an intolerable injustice, clearly opposing the 1945 Constitution," Saldi said in the courtroom on Thursday, January 2, 2025. These reasons led the Court to change its previous decisions that considered the presidential threshold as the authority of lawmakers. Saldi argued that any nomination threshold is against the 1945 Constitution. "Thus, the claims of the petitioners stating that the minimum percentage threshold for proposing presidential and vice-presidential candidates in Article 222 of Law 7/2017 contradicts the 1945 Constitution," he added. The ruling was read by Chief Justice Suhartoyo, who stated, "We grant the petitioners' request in full." Suhartoyo noted that the norm in Article 222 of Law No. 7 of 2017 regarding elections is in conflict with the 1945 Constitution. The contested article relates to the nomination threshold for presidential and vice-presidential candidates by political parties. Article 22 of Law No. 7 of 2017 states: "Candidates are proposed by political parties or coalitions of political parties participating in the election that meet the requirement of obtaining at least 20% of the total seats in the DPR or securing 25% of valid votes nationally in the previous DPR election."

Tag: MK Removes Presidential Threshold Suhartoyo