The decision to reject in entirety the plaintiffs' appeal was announced by MK Chief Justice Anwar Usman during the court session here on Thursday.
Presenting the court ruling, Justice Saldi Isra said the plaintiffs' argument that the open-list voting system in elections diminishes and distorts the role of political parties is an exaggeration.
"(This is) because, so far, political parties still have their central role with complete authority in the process of selecting and determining prospective (election) candidates," he stated.
According to Isra, the court found that the political parties' role remains central in the selection process of election candidates that can represent the party's ideology, agenda, and interest.
The justice also stated that the open-list proportional representation is not the cause for the emergence of money politics, which was an issue pointed out by the plaintiffs, as it is a recurring issue in elections regardless of the system.
"For instance, in a closed-ballot list system, money politics is more likely to occur among political party elites, where prospective legislative candidates are vying by all ways possible for the first spot in the party list to increase their electability," Isra explained.
Moreover, other election issues highlighted by the plaintiffs, such as corruption risk and fulfilment of the women's representation criteria, are not solely caused by the election system, he stated.
"(This is) because there will always be setbacks in every election system that can be improved and perfected without changing the system," Isra remarked.
He stated that improvement in the election system could take place in various aspects apart from changing the election system, such as by reforming the political culture, voters' awareness, and the political party's regeneration process.
"Therefore, the plaintiffs' arguments which, in essence, stated that the open-list proportional representation dictated by norms of Article 168 (2) of Law No. 7 of 2017 contradicts the 1945 Constitution has no legal basis in its entirety," the justice stated.
Thursday's court session was attended by only eight out of nine judges, as according to MK Spokesperson Fajar Laksono, Justice Wahiduddin Adams is on official business overseas.
Translator: Putu Indah S, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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