Election Separation Decision Considered Beyond MK's Authority, DPR Has Not Yet Taken Action

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The DPR has not yet taken a stance on the Constitutional Court's decision to separate the implementation of national and local elections. This is partly due to the decision being considered to have broad implications for changes to several laws and the ruling exceeding the authority of the Constitutional Court. Therefore, the DPR has chosen to conduct an academic study first before determining the next steps.

This was raised during the leadership meeting of the DPR with the heads of several DPR supporting tools (AKD) at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Monday (30/6/2025). The meeting, chaired by Deputy Chairman of the DPR from the Gerindra Party faction Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, was also attended by State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, Minister of Law Supratman Andi Agtas, as well as the commissioners of the election organizing agency.

The Chairman of Commission II of the DPR, Rifqinizamy Karsayuda, stated that the meeting has not yet reached a conclusion. Each AKD is requested to delve into the decision of the Constitutional Court along with all its consequences.

"The DPR has not yet provided an official stance. Allow us to conduct a serious review of the Constitutional Court's decision," said a politician from Partai Nasdem when met after the meeting.

Last Thursday, the Constitutional Court, through Decision Number 135/PUU-XXII/2024, stated that national and local elections will be held separately starting in 2029. The national election to elect the president and vice president, as well as members of the House of Representatives and Regional Representative Council, will be conducted first. After a gap of approximately two to two and a half years, it will be followed by local elections to elect members of the Regional People's Representative Council, governors, regents, and mayors.

Rifqinizamy believes that the Constitutional Court's decision to separate national and local elections raises several serious legal issues. In addition to potentially exceeding the authority of lawmakers, the decision is also considered contradictory to previous rulings of the Constitutional Court.

"From our preliminary study, there are at least several very serious legal issues. First, the decision of the Constitutional Court precedes the formation of the Constitution, whereas the Constitution states that regional heads are to be elected democratically. The meaning of democratically can refer to either direct or indirect elections. However, the Constitutional Court concluded that they must be elected through elections, meaning direct elections," said Rifqinizamy.

He reminded that in 2019, the Constitutional Court had issued Decision Number 55/PUU-XVII/2019 which provided six options for simultaneous election models and submitted the choice to lawmakers through an open legal policy. However, in its latest decision, the Constitutional Court itself determined one of the six models.

"So, if compared to the previous Constitutional Court decision, this seems contradictory. Previously, we were given the space to choose. Now the Constitutional Court has determined it itself. Meanwhile, the 2029 elections are still a long way off, and we are currently preparing the revision of the law," he stated.

Furthermore, according to him, the Constitutional Court's attitude in the latest decision has the potential to shift the role of the legislature. The Constitutional Court, which should act as a negative legislature or only state whether a norm is constitutional or not, is now acting like a positive legislature by creating new norms.

"If this continues to be allowed, when we revise the election law, it is possible that before it is implemented, a judicial review will be submitted, resulting in new norms. If this persists, how can we respect each other among state institutions?" he said.

Therefore, the DPR is said to be seriously examining the decision, including its possible impact on existing constitutional provisions.

One of the highlighted issues is the term of office and the scheduling of elections. If the regional legislative council elections are held two years after the parliamentary elections, there is a potential violation of Article 22E of the 1945 Constitution, which states that elections are to be held every five years to elect members of the Parliament and the regional legislative councils simultaneously.

"If the regional legislative council elections are not held every five years, particularly from 2029 to 2031, it could lead to interpretations that we are violating the constitution. Therefore, allow us to seriously delve into this matter," said Rifqinizamy.

Nevertheless, he emphasized that the DPR will continue to uphold the principle of constitutionality. "The decision of the Constitutional Court is final and binding. We will adhere to the constitution. Whatever stance the DPR takes later, it will certainly refer to the principle of constitutionality," he said.

Regarding legislative steps, Rifqinizamy said that discussions on the revision of the Election Law and the plan for an omnibus law in the political sector were still awaiting official direction from the DPR leadership.

"The stance of Commission II is clear; we are waiting for directions from the leadership of the DPR regarding when and how the discussions will be conducted, and to which council's working apparatus it will be submitted. Of course, we would be very honored if the discussions were assigned to Commission II," he stated.

Separately, the Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the DPR from the Democratic Party faction, Dede Yusuf, stated that the Constitutional Court's decision regarding the separation of national and regional elections will have widespread implications for several laws. Therefore, Commission II, along with other relevant working committees, agreed to first prepare an academic study before taking a stance.

"If the (election) for the Regional People's Representative Council is separated, it means there will be an extension period for both the regional head and the Regional People's Representative Council within a timeframe of two to two and a half years. This will later correlate with the need to amend various other laws, such as the Law on Regional Government, the Law on Special Autonomy, and also the Law on Political Parties," said Dede.

Nevertheless, according to Dede, this decision by the Constitutional Court is not something entirely new. He reminded that the discourse on the separation of elections has actually emerged since the Constitutional Court's decision in 2019. However, its implementation now must take into account implications that are far more complex.

"We also discussed various reviews, including the sources of the lawsuits submitted by the civil society coalition. Even Perludem (Association for Elections and Democracy) was present (at the meeting with the leaders of the DPR and the government). There was a lengthy debate regarding the consequences of this separation (of the elections)," he said.

Dede believes that changes to the electoral system cannot solely rely on the reality of the heavy burden faced by election organizers during the 2019 elections. This is because, in the upcoming elections, the 2024 elections, the burden on officials will be significantly reduced after the number of voters per polling station (TPS) is limited to a maximum of 300 people.

"So actually there are many engineerings that can be done without having to change the law. This still needs study," he said.

Regarding the impact on the quality of democracy, Dede was reluctant to conclude whether the separation of elections would strengthen or weaken the democratic system in Indonesia. He cautioned that policy changes should not become a testing ground.

"Don't let all these decisions end up being trial and error. If it's just about fixing the existing mechanism, that can be done. But if we change the system, there will be new implications that we may not have anticipated now," he said.

He added that until now there has been no official decision from Commission II of the DPR regarding the establishment of a special committee or the discussion of the revision of the election law. Everyone is still awaiting guidance from the leadership of the DPR and the results of the study from the Council's Expert Body.

"If we rush, many laws will change significantly. But if we take too long, we might miss the opportunity. So I think we need to find the right point," said Dede.