DPR Studies MK Decision on Election Separation, Government Awaits Presidential Instructions

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The House of Representatives is still reviewing options to discuss the Election Bill, which has been affected by several decisions of the Constitutional Court regarding changes to crucial aspects of election administration. Various political and technical implications still need to be anticipated, so the analysis of the decisions will be conducted carefully and involve various parties. On the other hand, the government is awaiting instructions from President Prabowo Subianto to follow up on the Constitutional Court's decisions.

The decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) that alters the conduct of elections includes a landmark ruling that separates the national elections from the local elections. Other rulings also eliminate the presidential nomination threshold and modify the parliamentary threshold. Additionally, there is a ruling that changes the nomination requirements in regional head elections (Pilkada).

Deputy Speaker of the DPR Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, after sending off President Prabowo Subianto to Saudi Arabia at the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in Jakarta on Tuesday (1/7/2025), stated that they have held a meeting to discuss the Constitutional Court's decision that alters crucial aspects of the electoral process, one of which is the separation of national and local elections. The meeting was attended by the Minister of Law, the Minister of Home Affairs, the Minister of State Secretariat, the General Election Commission (KPU), Commission II of the DPR, Commission III of the DPR, as well as several non-governmental organizations including the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), which filed a judicial review of the Election Law.

Through meetings with various parties, Dasco stated that the DPR is striving to carefully read and respond to the Constitutional Court's decision. Therefore, similar forums will also be held several more times to ensure that the decisions and legislative products produced will be truly beneficial.

"We do not have a target yet (for the discussion of the Election Bill) considering that the election is still a long way off. However, looking at the decision, there is a certain timeframe to make preparations for verification and the determination of candidates, we will calculate and later adjust it to the available time," he stated.

The Daily Chair of the Gerindra Party continued, the review of the Constitutional Court's decision is not only conducted by the House of Representatives but also by political parties, including Gerindra. In the future, the results of the review from each political party will serve as valued input in responding to the Constitutional Court's decision and the legislative products that will be issued.

Although the timeline for discussing the Election Bill has not been determined, Dasco stated that this does not mean that the DPR is ignoring the Constitutional Court's decision, which is final and binding. Moreover, a final and binding decision can still be challenged, potentially resulting in a new ruling with the same nature.

"Indeed, the decision of the Constitutional Court is final and binding. The Constitutional Court has also made several decisions that are final and binding, which were then tested against the same law. The same law was tested, and the decision was also final and binding with more or less the same material, so the final and binding decisions were subsequently tested again and found to be final and binding. This is something we need to examine, so we will review these final and binding decisions."

On the same occasion, Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi added that the government is also taking similar actions. In fact, the government has formed a team consisting of the State Secretary Ministry, the Home Affairs Ministry, and the Law Ministry to analyze a series of Constitutional Court decisions related to the administration of elections. In-depth and careful discussions are important, as these decisions have crucial impacts on various technical aspects of election administration. "Give us time, we will seek guidance from the President," he said.

Prasetyo added that the government respects the Constitutional Court's decision. However, from the outset, President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka have been committed to focusing on their work and realizing the government's vision and mission.

"Election as a system (within) our democracy, we understand. But this is only eight months in, our government is currently very enthusiastic about working," he said.