Chief Justice Anwar Usman giving a keynote speech at a national seminar of the Constitutional Law Festival 2023 organized by the Court and the Law Faculty of Brawijaya University, Sunday (9/10/2023). Photo by MKRI/Ilham W.M.

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MALANG (MKRI) — The provisions contained in Article 222 of the Election Law, which regulates the requirements for the acquisition of House of Representatives (DPR) seats to nominate a presidential and vice-presidential candidate pair, have received a lot of public attention and have been reviewed by the Constitutional Court numerous times, said Chief Justice Anwar Usman in his speech at the Constitutional Law Festival 2023 (CLFest 2023) on “Reviewing Parliamentary and Presidential Thresholds in 2024 Election as Manifestation of Democracy” held by the Law Faculty of Brawijaya University on Sunday, September 10, 2023.

He emphasized that in some of its decisions, the Constitutional Court stated parliamentary and presidential thresholds are open legal policies. The Court based its legal argumentation on two main things, specifically simplifying the party and strengthening the presidential system. In Decision No. 14/PUU-XI/2013 and subsequent decisions, it reformulated Articles 6A and 22E of the 1945 Constitution. “This then has implications on the implementation of simultaneous legislative and presidential elections. The aim is to strengthen the presidential system in accordance with the design of the existing constitutional system in the post-amendment of the 1945 Constitution,” he said.

However, he said, the most important thing to understand is that not all differences in political views that lead to the formulation of legal norms must be decided by the Constitutional Court. He called for wiser steps through deliberation. It is possible that different political views on the parliamentary and presidential thresholds become an agenda and even a political policy that political parties can offer to the public.

“It is through elections that the people can determine, bid for, and propose programs that are in accordance with their needs. The Constitutional Court’s involvement in varying political views, which should be resolved through deliberation and consensus, has triggered judicial tyranny in the political process,” he stated.

Therefore, he believes this should be avoided in order to create a healthy democratic climate in the community. Different political views must be addressed wisely through, among others, public discussions, so that they become part of political learning for the public for the sake of better future democratic life.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator  : Tahlitha Laela/Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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