Indonesian Parliament Postpones Amendments To Regional Head Elections Law Following Protests, Lack Of Quorum

JAKARTA, Aug. 22 (Bernama) -- Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) on Thursday postponed the approval of amendments to the Regional Head Elections Law (RUU Pilkada) due to a lack of quorum and ongoing protests in several major cities.

Only 86 out of 560 members were present, Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad announced in Parliament, emphasising that the leadership will review public concerns and the impact of amending the RUU on Pilkada candidacies before rescheduling the vote.

Opposition arose after the DPR’s Komisi III concluded discussions on the amendments to the RUU on Wednesday.

Protesters are demanding that the DPR reject the amendments to the RUU from Komisi III, which has disregarded the Constitutional Court’s ruling on candidate requirements for all political parties and the age limit.

The RUU amendments suggested in Komisi III stipulated that a party or coalition of parties must hold at least 20 per cent of the seats or 25 per cent of the votes in the Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) to nominate a candidate.

On Monday, 12 parties, including Gerindra, Golkar, and Nasdem, endorsed former West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil and former Agriculture Minister Suswono as governor and deputy governor candidates in the Jakarta Pilkada.

Analysts predict that this coalition might prevent former Presidential candidate and former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan from running again.

Additionally, the RUU amendments set the minimum age for gubernatorial candidates at 30 years, while candidates for district heads (bupati) and mayors (wali kota) must be at least 25 years old.

Some parliament members met with protesters outside the Parliament building to listen to their feedback, including claims that the RUU aims to allow President Joko Widodo’s youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, 29, to run and exclude candidates from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Protests also occurred in other major cities such as Makassar, Semarang, Yogyakarta, and Bandung in West Java.

Since early morning, security forces, including 3,286 police officers, were deployed in Jakarta to manage protests organised by the Indonesian Student Alliance, labour party supporters, and activists.

At least 2,013 officers were stationed at the Parliament and 1,273 at the Horse Statue of the National Monument complex (Monas), a well-known demonstration site.

Ten media organisations, united under the  ‘Koalisi Lintas Organisasi Pers’ (Cross-Organisation Media Coalition), also criticised the rushed legislative process, alleging it ignores constitutional principles and expressed concerns about its impact on the constitution and democracy.

The 2024 Pilkada, involving the election of governors, district heads, and mayors, is scheduled for November 27.

-- BERNAMA