SHARECountry Data
Indonesia (Republic of Indonesia) has a Unicameral parliament with legislated quotas for the single/lower house and at the sub-national level. 126 of 575 (22%) seats in the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat / House of Representatives are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Unicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? Yes
- For the Sub-National Level? Yes
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? No
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Sep 21, 2022
Single/Lower House
Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat / House of Representatives
| Total seats | 575 |
| Total Women | 126 |
| % Women | 22% |
| Election Year | 2019 |
| Electoral System | List PR |
| Quota Type | Legislated Candidate Quotas |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Constitution | |
| Electoral law | According to Article 55 of Law 8/2012 on General Elections ‘the list of nominees of candidates for members of the House of Representatives shall contain at least 30% of women’s representation’. According to IPU, "The 2014 elections were the first to be held since the adoption of Law 8/2012, which foresees that at least 1 in every 3 candidates included on a political party list should be a woman. Political parties that do not meet the requirement are disqualified from submitting a list in the electoral district where the quota is not met." (www.ipu.org). This was reienforced in 2017, with the adoption of Law No. 7/2017, which retained the 30 percent quota and the zipper system for the 2019 election.
|
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | The competent electoral authority shall verify the fulfillment of the quota requirement and in a case where the candidate list does not include at least 30% women’s representation, it shall provide the political party with the opportunity to revise the candidate list (Articles 58 (1) and 59 (2)). If the party fails to meet the quota requirement, the General Election Commission Regulation (PKPU) No. 7/2013 Article 27 stipulates that it would be disqualified from running in the electoral districts in which the quota was not met. In 2018, the PKPU law No. 20/2018 maintained this binding sanction for the quota requirements. |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | At least 1 in every 3 candidates included on a political party list should be a woman (Article 56 (2)). |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | Other | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
- Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Constitution | |
| Electoral law | The list of nominees of candidates for members of the People’s Representative Council and Regional House of Representatives shall contain at least 30% women’s representation (Article 55). | |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | The competent electoral authority shall verify the fulfillment of the quota requirement and in a case where the candidate list does not include at least 30% women’s representation, it shall provide the political party with the opportunity to revise the candidate list (Articles 58 (1) and 59 (2)). If the party fails to meet the quota requirement, the General Election Commission Regulation (PKPU) No. 7/2013 Article 27 stipulates that it would be disqualified from running in the electoral districts in which the quota was not met. In 2018, the PKPU law No. 20/2018 maintained this binding sanction for the quota requirements. |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | On the list of nominees, out of 3 nominees there should be at least 1 female nominee (Article 56 (2)). |
Additional Information
Previously, the electoral system was a closed list proportional representation system whereby parties presented closed lists, with one-third of the elected candidates being women. In December 2008, the Constitutional Court deemed Article 214 of the electoral law unconstitutional, leading to the adoption of the open list system.
"The 2019 elections were the first to see the number of women elected to Indonesia’s national parliament, the People’s Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat, DPR), break through the barrier of 20%, with 120 of the DPR’s 575 seats (20.9%) taken by women" (Aspinall, White, & Savirani, 2021).
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Constitution of Indonesia (rev. 2002) (English version)
- Law 8/2012 on General Election of the Members of House of Representatives, People’s Representatives Council and Regional House of Representatives (2012, unofficial translation);
- Law 7/2017 on Governing General Elections
OTHER SOURCES:
- Inter-Parliamentary Union
- Supriadi, I., ‘A Decade of Democracy in Indonesia: The 2009 Legislative Election’, Report of International Election Observation Mission (Asian Network for Free Elections, [no date]);
- Sri Adhiati, A., ‘Women in Parliament: Quotas and Beyond’, Tapol, no. 4 (February 2009)
- Indonesian Parliament, 'This is Act Number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections (2)' (August 2017)
- IFES, 'Elections in Indonesia: 2019 Concurrent Presidential and Legislative Elections | Asia-Pacific (April 2019)
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Indonesia on iKNOW Politics
- Aspinall, E., White, S., & Savirani, A. 2021. Women's political representation in Indonesia: Who wins and how? 40(1). 3-27. doi:10.1177/1868103421989720
- Zein Br Siregar, W. 2007. 'Gaining Representation in Parliament: A Study of the Struggle of Indonesian Women to Increase their Numbers in the National, Provincial and Local Parliaments in the 2004 Elections.' PhD thesis, Australian National University.
- Bylesjö, C. & Seda, F. SSE. 2006. ’Indonesia: The struggle for gender quotas in the world’s largest Muslim country’, in Dahlerup, D. (ed.) Women, Quotas and Politics, London/New York: Routledge, pp. 259-265.
- Subiyantoro, E.B. 2004. ‘Keterwakilan Perempuan dalam Politik: Masih Menjadi Kabar Burung’, Jurnal Perempuan, 34: 71.
- Dahlerup, D. 2003. ‘Quota – A Jump to Equality’, in International IDEA The Implementation of Quotas: Asian Experiences, Quota Workshop Report Series no. 1, Stockholm: International IDEA, pp. 10–18.
- Mar’iyah, C. 2003. ‘The Political Representation of Women in Indonesia: How can it be achieved?’, in International IDEA The Implementation of Quotas: Asian Experiences, Quota Workshop Report Series no. 1, Stockholm: International IDEA, pp. 62–5.
- Indar Parawansa, K. 2002. ‘Obstacles to Women's Political Participation in Indonesia.’ International IDEA. Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers 2002. Indonesian edition. Stockholm.
- Mar'iyah, C. 2002. ‘The Political Representation of Women in Indonesia: How Can it be Achieved?’ Paper presented at workshop on The Implementation of Quotas: Asian Experiences. hosted by International IDEA: Jakarta, Indonesia.
- Parawansa, K.I. 2002. ‘Institution Building: An Effort to Improve Indonesian Women’s Role and Status’, in K. Robinsson and S. Nessell (eds) Women. Gender, Equality and Development, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, p. 68.
- Robinson, K., & Bessel, S. 2002. Women in Indonesia, Gender, Equity & Development. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
- Seda, F. SSE. 2002. ‘Legislative Recruitment and Electoral Systems in Indonesia.’In International IDEA, Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. Indonesian edition, Stockholm.