Hard! Expert: Proposed Postponement Of Elections Betrays Constitution, Democracy Becomes Stagnant

JAKARTA - Constitutional law expert from the Center for Law and Policy Studies (PSKH), Bivitri Susanti, views that the proposal to postpone the 2024 elections by political elites betrays the constitution, in this case the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

"This is an actual betrayal of the constitution. PSKH's friends say it is constitutional defiance. I think I use a stronger word, true betrayal," said Bivitri in a virtual discussion, Sunday, March 6.

According to Bivitri, the constitution is not just a text that is set and its content can be changed. Bivitri emphasized that the constitution is a limitation on the powers of state administrators.

He continued, holding elections every five years is a prerequisite for democracy. Because democracy requires leadership regeneration. This is in contrast to the issue of postponing the election accompanied by an extension of the president's term of office.

"Imagine if this is not refreshed. So, all the rules of the game, legal politics, and economic politics and so on will not change. Democracy will become stagnant and this is not desirable in a healthy democracy," said Bivitri.

Bivitri also reviewed the bad history of postponing elections that had been carried out during the leadership of President Soekarno. After the election in 1955, Soekarno decided to postpone the election.

A number of reasons used at that time were political instability, to the high cost. The leadership changed, the postponement of the election again occurred during the Suharto era.

As a result, said Bivitri, the government's power at that time became excessive, causing riots that peaked in 1998.

"History in Indonesia has also shown that postponing elections contains a ticking time bomb about excessive power so that in the end the elections were never held, the leader fell, the country was in chaos. That needs to be recorded as a historical record, don't let it happen again," explained Bivitri.

"People who have discussed and supported constitutional changes should be ashamed to admit that they are statesmen. The heads of political parties should be ashamed because they have betrayed the idea of constitutionalism," he added.