Election Bill Urgent, DPR Has Not Yet Decided on Discussion AKD

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The DPR has yet to decide on its equipment that will discuss the Election Bill or RUU Pemilu. The DPR has been reminded again that the slow discussion and approval of the Election Bill could disrupt the organization of the 2029 elections.

The content of the Draft Law on General Elections or the Election Bill is considered to be laden with the interests of political parties. However, meaningful participation is more urgently needed, thus the Election Bill should be discussed as soon as possible. This is to build a better political and democratic system.

The Deputy Chairman of the DPR from the Golkar Party faction, Adies Kadir, stated that the Election Bill is still under discussion among the political parties. The leadership of the DPR is also awaiting input regarding the discussion of the Election Bill, including in deciding the Council's Completeness Tools (AKD) that will address it.

"All parties are still discussing it (the Election Bill), and there have not yet been any inputs on how the discussions will proceed. If necessary, cross-commission meetings can also be held, such as in the Legislative Body (Baleg) or a special committee (Pansus) can be formed," he stated at the Nusantara III Building, Senayan Complex, Jakarta, Friday (2/5/2025).

The Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Body from the Golkar Party faction, Ahmad Doli Kurnia, stated that his party is ready to discuss the Election Bill. Furthermore, he mentioned that Golkar has also formed a team to discuss the points deemed important in the Election Bill.

"This team has discussed and elaborated on issues concerning the refinement of the electoral system. Everything can be paired and is ready to be discussed in the Election Bill. The overarching title is that we want to improve the political system," he explained.

Doli did not deny that there were interests from each political party in the Election Bill. However, that did not necessarily mean that the discussion was allowed to drag on. He continued to push for the Election Bill to be discussed immediately so that meaningful participation could be achieved.

This longer discussion, Doli stated, is expected to prioritize more objective material compared to subjective interests for the victory of political parties. All of these discussions are conducted to build the political system in Indonesia, not merely for the sake of momentary political interests.

"I can't deny, yes, political parties definitely have an interest in winning the election. But if the time is longer, the discussion can be more open with the community so that meaningful participation can be achieved. We can have a dialogue with civil society groups, campuses and so on," he said.

Therefore, Doli hopes for a commitment from the leaders of political parties, especially President Prabowo Subianto, to pay attention to the Election Bill. All of this, he continued, is for the improvement of the political system and democracy in Indonesia.

"All of this depends on the consensus and agreement among political leaders, including Mr. President who is also the General Chair of the Gerindra Party. The idea of improving the political system has also been conveyed several times by Mr. Prabowo," he stated.

Politicians in the DPR, Doli continued, are currently waiting for directions from the leaders of their respective political parties. "Then it will be agreed upon by the leadership of the DPR when it will be scheduled. After that, it will proceed and be determined who will discuss it," he said.

A constitutional law lecturer at Andalas University, Padang, West Sumatra, Khairul Fahmi, believes that the prolonged discussion of the Election Bill will have serious implications for the organization of the 2029 elections. He even hopes that the Election Bill can be completed this year. This is also to ensure that there is enough time in case the revised Election Law is challenged in the Constitutional Court (MK) before the election stages begin.

"Do not let more spaces for changes in regulations be opened, especially while the election stages are already underway. Immediately discuss the revision of the Election Law, so that all parties can also restrain themselves from bringing issues to the Constitutional Court," he stated.

In addition, he reminded that the tug-of-war of political interests in the discussion of the Election Bill must be addressed promptly. If the discussions are prolonged, the impact will be serious on the conduct of the elections in 2029.

"The Election Bill must be completed in this year of 2025. This is because in 2026, the selection stages for members of the General Election Commission (KPU) and the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) will begin again. The mechanism for selecting election organizers is also included in that law," he stated.

Moreover, based on evaluations from civil society and academics, the selection process for members of the KPU-Bawaslu RI at the provincial, district, and city levels is considered inadequate as it has resulted in individuals whose independence in conducting elections is questionable.