Camelia Pasandaran – The Constitutional Court on Friday ruled to reject a demand for a judicial review filed by 11 minor political parties against the minimum election vote share required to gain seats in the House of Representatives, or DPR, the court's chief said.

The threshold system requires that a party gain at least 2.5 percent of the 550 seats in the DPR to ensure representation – even if their individual candidates win in their respective areas.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that the 2008 Law on Elections favored established parties, discriminated against minor parties and constituted a breach of the 1945 Constitution, which guarantees equal protection and standing under the law.

Chief Justice Mafhud MD, presenting the court's decision, said the lawsuit had no strong legal basis and that the court "rejects all parts of the plaintiff's lawsuit."

Mahfud said that the legislative threshold was not unconstitutional. "The court disagrees that the threshold violates human rights," he said. "All political parties have the same chance to contest the election in a democratic way, but not all parties are lucky enough in the competition."

"The legislative threshold is allowed by the Constitution as a way to simplify the politics of the multiparty system," Justice Abdul Mukthie Fadjar said. "The law on the party system is meant to put in place limitations as long as they remain in line with the Constitution."

Two of the eight justices, however, wrote dissenting opinions. "The Constitutional Court failed to deeply consider the spirit of the Constitution," Maruar Siahaan, one of the dissenting judges, said after the verdict. "Lawmakers have been inconsistently applying a election system that is changed from time to time as per their own interests."

The plaintiffs were the Democratic Renewal Party, or PDP; the Patriot Party; the Regional Unity Party, or PPD; the National People's Concern Party, or PPRN; the Prosperous Indonesia Party, or PIS; the Freedom Bull National Party, or PNBK; the New Indonesia Alliance Party, or PPIB; the Functional Party of Struggle; the People's Conscience Party, or Hanura; the Indonesian Democratic Party of Devotion, or PKDI; and the Freedom Party.

PNBK chairman Eros Djarot said he was disappointed with the verdict and blamed the court. "The court has lost its rationality and nationalism," Eros said. "Just listen to what the dissenting opinions of the two judges said. It is not rational to simplify the multiparty system using a legislative threshold."

Roy B.B. Janis, chairman of PDP, said outside the court that the decision may lead to conflict. "Legislative candidates who gain lots of votes and fail to become legislators may file a lawsuit with the court," Roy said.

Abdul Hafiz Anshary, head of the General Elections Commission, or KPU, agreed that the threshold could lead to disputes. "Candidates who have won but get dropped because the party did not pass the threshold may file lawsuits," he said on Friday.