Who Benefits from the Separation of National and Local Elections?

Why did the Constitutional Court decide to separate national and local elections?

Starting in 2029, elections will no longer be conducted with five ballot boxes to elect members of the DPR, DPD, president and vice president, provincial DPRD members, and district/city DPRD members. The Constitutional Court has decided to separate the national elections for the DPR, DPD, and president and vice president from the local elections for the positions of governor and vice governor, regent and vice regent, mayor and vice mayor, as well as DPRD members.

Local elections are held at the shortest 2 years and at the longest 2 years and 6 months after the inauguration of members of the DPR and DPD or after the inauguration of the president/vice president. The Constitutional Court has entrusted the lawmakers to determine the specific timing for the implementation of local elections and to regulate the transition period for the terms of office of the members of the regional legislative council resulting from the elections on February 14, 2024, and the regional heads resulting from the simultaneous regional elections in 2024.

The Constitutional Court granted the request submitted by the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) in case 135/PUU-XXII/2024, which examined Article 1 Paragraph (1), Article 167 Paragraph (3), Article 347 Paragraph (1) of the election law, and Article 3 Paragraph (1) of Law Number 8 of 2015 concerning Regional Elections, on Thursday (26/6/2025). The session was presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo.

In its considerations, the Constitutional Court stated that the timing of the elections for members of the House of Representatives, Regional Representative Council, President and Vice President, as well as members of the provincial/city district councils, which is close to the time of the regional elections, results in insufficient time for the public to assess the performance of the government resulting from the presidential and legislative elections.

In addition, the close timeframe and the merging of the regional legislative council elections with the elections for the House of Representatives, Regional Representative Council, and the presidential and vice-presidential elections tend to overshadow regional development issues amidst national concerns.

Who benefits from the latest Constitutional Court ruling?

The Professor of Political Science at Airlangga University Surabaya, Ramlan Surbakti, stated that with the separation of national and local elections, political parties have more opportunities to prepare their best cadres as candidates for leadership, both in the executive and legislative institutions.

"With the separation of elections, political parties no longer prepare their candidates in bulk. There are two time periods to prepare their best cadres. Of course, they must also go through a mature cadre development process," said Ramlan during a public discussion titled "The Impact of the Constitutional Court Decision Number 135/PUU-XXII/2024 on the Election System, Regional Elections, and Local Government," which was held online on Saturday (28/6/2025).

In addition, voters have two opportunities, namely national elections and local elections, to evaluate the performance of parties or candidates. "We can make a decision, whether it is a reward or punishment. If the performance is good, they are re-elected; if poor, they are not chosen," said Ramlan.

Another matter, according to senior researcher from Perludem, Heroik Pratama, the separation of elections can address voter fatigue resulting from a series of simultaneous election processes. This voter fatigue has led to a decrease in voter interest, as evidenced by the declining voter participation rates. From the data he collected, the average voter participation in the presidential and legislative elections reached 81 percent, while in regional elections it was only 70 percent.

How did the KPU respond to the Constitutional Court's decision?

The General Election Commission or KPU welcomed the decision of the Constitutional Court that separates the implementation of national elections and local elections. This separation is considered to reduce political fatigue in society while also facilitating the management of election administration, which has so far been concentrated at one time.

"When the implementation of simultaneous elections and national simultaneous regional head elections are combined in the same year, the public experiences political fatigue. And from the managerial side of the implementation of the stages, this requires extra resources," said KPU member Idham Holik when contacted by Kompas from Jakarta, Friday (6/27/2025).

In addition, Idham believes that this separation has a positive impact on the synchronization of local development agendas. He highlighted that local legislative elections held concurrently with regional elections represent a legal breakthrough that strengthens the position of regional elections as the starting point for development in the regions.

"The court emphasized issues related to local development. This aligns the program design of legislative candidates in the region with the vision, mission, and programs of the prospective regional head candidates. Thus, it synchronizes, particularly for political parties or coalitions of political parties that support the prospective pairs of candidates," he explained.

What should the government and the DPR do with the Constitutional Court's decision?

The House of Representatives and the government are urged to promptly discuss the revision of the Election Law. One of the important reasons for discussing the revision of the Election Law from the outset is the numerous consequences of the decision regarding the choice of the model for simultaneous elections, which requires extensive and in-depth discussion.

"The revision of the Election Law must start now. If not, we will be in disarray again. This also helps the election participants to prepare more thoroughly for the new election model in 2029. We should not let them be caught off guard regarding the system, what needs to be prepared, including logistics," said the Director of the Constitutional Studies Center at the Faculty of Law, Andalas University, Charles Simabura, during a discussion on Friday (27/6/2025).

In line with Charles, the Executive Director of the Center for Political Studies (Puskapol) at the University of Indonesia, Hurriyah stated that the Constitutional Court's decision should be used as a momentum to push for discussions on the revision of the Election Law.

However, although the Constitutional Court's decision is an important moment for the improvement of the electoral system, it must be accompanied by political will and the seriousness of the DPR and the government to promptly discuss the revision of the Election Law. Not only the Election Law, but the Political Party Law must also be revised considering the numerous studies indicating that the party system in Indonesia is very weak.

How did the government and DPR respond?

The Chairman of Commission II of the DPR, Muhammad Rifqinizamy Karsayuda, stated that his party respects the decision of the Constitutional Court. This decision will also serve as the main material in the revision of the Election Law, which is currently being prepared.

"We ensure that this Constitutional Court decision becomes one of the main concerns for Commission II of the DPR," said Rifqinizamy when contacted in Jakarta on Thursday.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya Sugiarto, during a retreat for regional heads at the Institute of Domestic Government (IPDN) in Jatinangor, Sumedang Regency, West Java, on Thursday (26/6/2025), stated that his side will comprehensively review the decision. The follow-up to this decision will also be integrated into the ongoing process of revising the Election Law currently taking place in parliament.

"The decision of the Constitutional Court will serve as an important input in the revision process. The Constitutional Court's decision is final and binding, but the implementation of it certainly needs to be considered carefully," he continued.