The Constitutional Court on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, issued a ruling altering the threshold for regional head nominations, which may drastically change the political landscape for future elections, including the hotly contested Jakarta gubernatorial race.
This ruling partially granted the petition filed by the Labor Party and the Gelora Party, effectively lowering the barrier for political parties to nominate candidates for regional head positions. Previously, a political party or coalition of political parties were required to have 25 percent of the vote share or 20 percent of the seats in each of the Provincial or Regency Legislative Council (DPRD) to nominate a regional head candidate.
However, with the MK’s new ruling, the threshold for political party nominations has been aligned with the independent candidate threshold as outlined in Articles 41 and 42 of the Regional Elections Law (UU Pilkada).
This decision is expected to have immediate implications, particularly in Jakarta, where the previous requirement of a 20 percent vote share or seat allocation led to the controversial “ticket hoarding” by the Onward Indonesia Coalition.
The new threshold of just 7.5 percent of the vote share in Jakarta opens up the field for more candidates, including former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, who previously struggled to find sufficient political backing.
This ruling also benefits the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which secured 14.01 percent of the vote in the 2024 Regional Legislative elections, but lacked a coalition partner to meet the earlier 20 percent threshold. With the new rules, PDI-P can now proceed solo in nominating a gubernatorial candidate.
The ruling specifies new thresholds based on the population size in different provinces:
- Provinces with up to 2 million registered voters: 10 percent of the vote share is required;
- Provinces with 2-6 million registered voters: 8.5 percent of the vote share is required;
- Provinces with 6-12 million registered voters: 7.5 percent of the vote share is required;
- Provinces with over 12 million registered voters: 6.5 percent of the vote share is required.
This recalibration could significantly alter the dynamics of the Jakarta gubernatorial race. Previously, PDI-P struggled to find a partner to support a bid, but with the new threshold, they can nominate a candidate without needing to form a coalition.
PDI-P is reportedly considering pairing Anies Baswedan with Hendrar Prihadi, head of the National Public Procurement Agency (LKPP), to run for governor and deputy governor, respectively.
According to Said Abdullah, Senior executive at PDI-P’s Executive Board, negotiations are ongoing to finalize the Anies-Hendrar ticket.
He admitted the challenge posed by the earlier hoarding of nomination tickets by Ridwan Kamil-Suswono pair, which has been nominated by the Onward Indonesia Coalition mebers, but remains optimistic about PDI-P’s chances under the new rules.
As political parties adjust to this ruling, it remains to be seen how it will affect the broader political landscape, particularly in regions like Jakarta where the gubernatorial race has already drawn significant attention.
