The ruling hearing for the material judicial review of Law No. 2 of 2011 on the Political Party for case No. 166/PUU-XXIII/2025, Thursday (10/16/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) decided to dismiss the material judicial review petition of Law No. 2 of 2008 on Political Parties, as amended by Law No. 2 of 2011, at the ruling hearing for Decision No. 166/PUU-XXIII/2025 on Thursday, October 16, 2025 in the plenary courtroom. The petition was filed by Tri Makno.

In its legal considerations, delivered by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, the Court stated that it did not observe any contradiction between the norm being reviewed and the constitutional grounds for review as submitted by the Petitioner. After examining the petition, the Court found that the formulation of the Petitioner’s petitums did not follow the standard format for judicial review.

“The formulation of the Petitioner’s petitums is unclear as to whether it is intended for the Court to declare the constitutionality, unconstitutionality, or conditional constitutionality of the statutory provision. The formulation instead resembles the technical drafting of legislation,” said the deputy chief justice as he read out the Court’s legal considerations.

Based on these considerations, the Court held that the Petitioner’s petition was obscure and, therefore, inadmissible.

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The petition No. 166/PUU-XXIII/2025 was filed by Tri Makno, who challenged Article 23 paragraphs (1) and (2), as well as Article 29 paragraph (2) of Law No. 2 of 2008 on Political Parties, as amended by Law No. 2 of 2011. He previously challenged Article 4 of the Party Law, which he then changed in the revised petition.

At the preliminary hearing on Thursday, September 25, he highlighted the low level of public trust in political parties, as reflected in a polling by Indikator Politik Indonesia in January 2025. He also mentioned the demonstrations calling for the dissolution of the House of Representatives (DPR) some time ago, which he said arose from public disappointment with the performance of political parties.

“The lack of public trust cannot be separated from the prevalence of corruption cases involving politicians, the lack of organizational transparency, and the minimal orientation toward the people’s interests. Public trust is not only about reputation but also a form of social capital for the sustainability of democracy,” he said.

In his petition, he argued that Article 4 of the Political Party Law is contrary to Article 1 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution and inconsistent with the articles of association/bylaws (AD/ART) of political parties. He emphasized that although the AD/ART guarantees members the right to elect party executives and legislative candidates, the law does not regulate a “one member, one vote” mechanism.

He claimed that the absence of such a mechanism risks perpetuating internal oligarchy in which power is concentrated in the hands of a handful of party elites. “In fact, the principle of decentralization has proven to improve the quality of public services in the executive. Political parties, as pillars of democracy, should apply the same model,” he stressed.

Therefore, he requested that the Court declare Article 4 of the Political Party Law unconstitutional. He also requested that the Court annul the provisions of the Political Party Law that do not require a “one member, one vote” mechanism and the decentralization of party authority. Furthermore, he asked the Court to order the House and the Government to revise the Political Party Law by including clauses on the direct election of party executives and the decentralization of party structures, facilitated by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

Putusan selengkapnya dapat dilihat pada tautan berikut: Putusan Perkara Nomor 166/PUU-XXIII/2025

Author       : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Nur R.
PR            : Raisa Ayuditha Marsaulina
Translator  : 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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