Polemic of Separation of National and Local Elections, Yusril: MK Decision is Final and Binding

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The decision of the Constitutional Court, including regarding the separation of national and local election administration, is final and binding in nature. Therefore, the government together with the DPR must revise the Election Law to implement the mandate of that decision.

Pressure on the DPR and the government to implement the decision continues to grow. The National Commission on Human Rights, or Komnas HAM, is among those advocating for it due to the need for human rights-friendly election separation.

The Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections (Kumhamimipas) Yusril Ihza Mahendra, after the event "Annual Report on Advocating Justice and Human Rights in the Political Year 2024" at the National Human Rights Commission office in Jakarta, Wednesday (2/7/2025), stated that inevitably, the lawmakers, namely the government and the DPR, must revise the Election Law following the Constitutional Court's decision that separates national and local elections. This is because the Constitutional Court's decision is final and binding.

Through decision Number 135/PUU-XXII/2024, read on Thursday (26/6/2025), the Constitutional Court separated the implementation of national elections and local elections starting in 2029. National elections include the presidential election and the elections for members of the House of Representatives and the Regional Representative Council, while local elections encompass the elections for provincial and district/city legislative council members, as well as the elections for governors and mayors/regents.

The national elections are requested to be held first, while the local elections should be conducted at least 2 years and at most 2.5 years after the inauguration of the president and vice president or the inauguration of the members of the DPR and DPD.

After the Constitutional Court's decision was read, almost all political parties in the parliament criticized, and even strongly rejected, the ruling. The reason is that the Constitutional Court's decision is considered to have exceeded its authority, as the power to formulate laws lies with the government and the DPR.

In addition, the implications of the Constitutional Court's decision are considered to potentially violate Article 22E of the 1945 Constitution, which states that elections are to be held every five years to elect members of the DPR and the regional legislative councils simultaneously.

Yusril continued, stating that the revision of the Election Law should also formulate solutions to the consequences arising from the Constitutional Court's decision regarding the separation of elections. The mentioned consequences include a gap of 2-2.5 years between the national and local elections. This gap has implications for the election of regional legislative council members, which will exceed the five-year election schedule and is not in accordance with Article 22E of the 1945 Constitution.

Article 22E Paragraph 1 stipulates that elections are to be conducted directly, publicly, freely, secretly, honestly, and fairly every five years. Paragraph 2 regulates that elections are held to elect members of the DPR, DPD, President and Vice President, as well as the DPRD.

Another consequence that must be considered is the end of the current term of office for members of the Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD) in 2029. The next election for DPRD members, according to the Constitutional Court's decision, will be held 2 to 2.5 years after the national election in 2029.

"Can the DPRD members be extended? Isn't this against the constitution itself, because DPRD members must be elected by the people? On what basis do we extend them for 2-2.5 years? Is a temporary DPRD formed or what? These are also issues that we still need to discuss so that we do not violate the constitution," he said.

From the government's perspective, according to Yusril, a special team led by the Ministry of Home Affairs has been established to review the Constitutional Court's decision. The study regarding legal aspects involves the Coordinating Ministry for Law and Human Rights and Imipas for coordination. The team will assess which portions will be undertaken by the government and which will be addressed by the DPR concerning the revision of the Election Law.

"Indeed, the initiative to propose the (Election Bill) is currently shared between the government and the DPR, and there are usually informal discussions about whether the DPR will propose it or whether the government will propose it," he stated.

Nevertheless, he believes it would be better if the government initiated the Election Bill. This is because it is easier for the government to have a unified stance regarding the content of the Election Bill than for the Parliament.

"The DPR will face so many factions, each with different interests," he explained.

Regardless, Yusril reminded that the revision of the Election Law must have a deadline for its completion. This is because the results of the revision are crucial as a basis for the implementation of elections. The five-year elections, in particular, must continue to be held to ensure the continuity of the presidential and vice-presidential terms.

"If elections cannot be held for five years, it could lead to new constitutional issues because there is no MPR to extend the president's term and no institution that can appoint an acting president," he emphasized.

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has urged that the Constitutional Court's decision regarding the separation of elections be implemented. The Chairperson of Komnas HAM, Anis Hidayah, stated that the recommendations from Komnas HAM in the annual report and policy paper launched at the beginning of 2025 are in line with the Constitutional Court Decision Number 135/PUU-XXII/2024.

"The separation of national and regional elections is one of the recommendations that we have conveyed to the government and the DPR. This recommendation is in line with our encouragement for it to be formulated into policy, particularly in the amendment of the Election Law," said Anis.

Based on the election policy paper prepared by the National Human Rights Commission as an evaluation of the implementation of the 2024 Simultaneous Elections and Regional Elections, the governance of elections needs to be changed to realize a more human rights-friendly election. A human rights-friendly election includes minimizing the deaths of election officers due to excessive workloads and ensuring that officers are provided with a safe working environment.

"In our monitoring throughout 2024, both during the election process and the regional elections, we still found practices where the deaths of officials remain quite high. Furthermore, the number of those who fell ill while serving as election officials is also significantly high," he explained.

In the previous two elections, namely the 2019 and 2024 elections, many officials experienced extreme fatigue, and some even lost their lives, due to the simultaneous conduct of the national elections and the regional legislative council elections.

Research from the Faculty of Medicine at Gadjah Mada University indicates that the majority of deaths are due to cardiovascular diseases. One of the triggers is the heavy workload from the collection and counting of five ballots, which takes time from morning until early morning.