Head Of The COVID-19 Task Force Affirms That The Regional Head Election Cannot Be Postponed

JAKARTA - Chairperson of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force Doni Monardo agrees with the government and DPR's decision not to delay the implementation of the 2020 Pilkada during the pandemic.

Doni reasoned that no one knew when the pandemic would end. The worry is that there is no guarantee that the pandemic will end when it resumes after a delay.

"Is there any guarantee that the postponement will take place at the time we have determined together? If for example there is certainty, of course there will be other considerations. But, we never know when this pandemic will end," Doni said in a webinar discussion, Thursday, October 1.

Regarding the pressure for the 2020 Pilkada to be postponed until a vaccine is available, Doni said the vaccine would not be immediately available in the near future. Because, as long as supplies exist, new vaccines are given to those who have priority gradually.

"Vaccines also will not necessarily stop COVID-19. This means that there are vaccines that get antibodies, are protected from COVID-19, but are waiting for another turn," he said.

According to Doni, if the 2020 Pilkada is postponed, the position of regional head whose term of office has expired in 2021 will be replaced by the acting (plt). According to Doni, it was not effective.

"As many as 261 regencies / cities and 9 governors who will be appointed by the Acting Committee, it is impossible to make a decision, it is impossible to issue a budget. In fact, COVID-19 must have a figure who can really solve the problem," said Doni.

"This figure also synergizes all components in the region. With no strong figures, after that, there is no guarantee that the control will run well," he continued.

The number of health protocol violations committed by regional head candidate pairs in the 2020 Pilkada during the registration period on September 4 to 6 caused a response from many parties.

A number of religious institutions such as Nahdlatul Ulama, PP Muhammadiyah have asked for the implementation of the 2020 Pilkada to be postponed for reasons of public safety from COVID-19 transmission.

Not only that, the 12th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla also asked the regional elections to be postponed. Even so with several civil society coalitions. Following this, the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) also pushed for the postponement of the regional elections.

However, on September 21, the government, namely the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Indonesian Parliament, the General Election Commission (KPU), the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), and the Honorary Council for Election (DKPP) agreed not to postpone the election day for the 2020 Pilkada on 9 December. .