DPRD's Strange Signs To Hold Anies' Representative Election In The Middle Of The COVID-19 Emergency Response

DKI Jakarta DPRD Building (Syamsul Ma'arif / VOI)

JAKARTA - Today, the DKI DPRD will hold a voting for the Deputy Governor of DKI. The selection of one name between Ahmad Riza Patria and Nurmansjah Lubis was held in the Plenary Meeting Room of the DPRD Building.

The agenda that will be carried out is the signing of the integrity pact, voting by punching ballots by all members of the DPRD, to determining the vacant position of the DKI Deputy Governor for the remaining 2017-2022 term.

The election of DKI Jakarta's second person was actually postponed some time ago. Initially, the election for DKI Jakarta Deputy Governor was scheduled for March 23, but was postponed due to waiting for the completion of the determination of the emergency response period for COVID-19 to April 5 by DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

In fact, Anies extended the emergency response period which required physical distancing until 19 April. In addition, Anies is also waiting for the status of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB). However, the DPRD did not want to delay it any longer.

DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (Source: DKI Pemprov Public Relations)

Deputy Chairperson of the DKI Deputy Governor's Election Committee (Panlih), S. Andyka claimed that his party would apply technical distancing at each cawagub table and DPRD leadership.

"In the room, we spaced out the space between the tables, which were originally filled with two people, now only one person is filled. So, inside there are only 54, according to the quorum requirements, plus two seats for witnesses, nine seats for voters, and five seats for board leadership. "said Andyka when contacted, Monday, April 6.

Meanwhile, the other council members who were going to exercise their voting rights did not stack up in the Plenary Meeting Room. "The second group is waiting in the transit room. We will also arrange the seating system in the transit room. We prepare two televisions to see the situation in the meeting room," he said.

Jakarta DPRD meeting room (Diah Ayu Wardani / VOI)

Gaffe

However, Andyka admitted that the election process was held behind closed doors from the public and journalists. This is in contrast to the agreement by the DPRD Deliberative Council which some time ago stated that elections would be held openly.

Andyka argued that the election process was closed because his party had to implement physical distancing. In addition, the DPRD has also not prepared a live streaming facility for journalists working from home (WFH) or the general public who want to watch. The reason is that all the provisions are carried out following the election agreement.

"Journalists cannot cover and there is no live streaming because it is not regulated in an orderly manner. This (decision) is certainly the result of our deliberations, like that. So, as long as it is not regulated in the order, we will not crash," he said.

A political observer from the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta, Adi Prayitno, questioned the urgency of choosing the Deputy Governor of DKI in the midst of an emergency handling of COVID-19. In fact, there have been strong calls from the central government not to gather in large numbers in the room.

"Even gathering residents at a wedding reception was dissolved. This is the name of the officers who coordinated in this event selective cutting," said Adi.

Adi suspects that there is political pressure from some parties to speed up the election process because the DPRD does not want to delay activities until the COVID-19 emergency period is over.

"Why is it now as if it is being forced. It should be that as people's representatives, in this case, the human side should be prioritized over political interests," Adi said.