Depok, November 6, 2025 — The Center for Political Studies at the University of Indonesia (Puskapol UI) held a public discussion titled “Strengthening Affirmative Action Policies and Protecting Women’s Participation: Input for the Revision of the Election Law.” This event was held to present the latest research findings from Puskapol and gather input from various stakeholders regarding strengthening women’s political representation and protection from gender-based violence in politics.
The event was opened by Panji Anugrah Permana, Head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Indonesia, who emphasized the need for electoral system reform to be more inclusive and responsive to gender equality issues. He stated that improving the quality of democracy must align with the state’s commitment to guaranteeing women’s political participation.
Hurriyah emphasized that inconsistent quota regulations, minimal female cadre development in parties, and the absence of specific regulations regarding gender-based political violence are significant obstacles to increasing women’s representation.
The discussion also featured Heroik Mutaqin Pratama (Director of Perludem) and Siti Nia Nurhasanah Sjarifudin (Special Staff to the Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection). Heroik highlighted regulatory uncertainty and weak sanctions against political parties as the main reasons for the ineffectiveness of affirmative action policies. Meanwhile, Nia emphasized the importance of special protection mechanisms against gender-based political violence to prevent women from withdrawing from the political sphere.
Based on research findings and discussions, Puskapol UI submitted four main recommendations for revising the Election Law:
- Consistent strengthening of the 30% quota phrase in all provisions related to nominations, party management, and election organizers.
- Strategic placement of female legislative candidates, including a minimum of 30% in number 1 and the implementation of a full zipper system.
- Providing incentives and disincentives for political parties, such as additional state subsidies or rejection of candidate lists for non-compliant parties.
- Drafting special anti-violence regulations in politics as a basis for protecting women from gender-based violence in the political sphere.
Puskapol UI hopes that the research results and recommendations will strengthen the process of revising the Election Law and encourage a more equal, safe, and inclusive political system for women in Indonesia.
The complete recording of this public discussion can be watched on the Puskapol UI YouTube channel YouTube Puskapol UI
In addition, you can also download the document “Draft Codification of the Election Law Proposed by Civil Society” in one document, as well as the Executive Summary of the Draft Codification of the Election Law Proposed by Civil Society via the link provided on the official Puskapol UI page.
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