History Of The Inauguration Of The President Of The Republic Of Indonesia, Why The Date Chosen October 20?

YOGYAKARTA Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka will be sworn in or take an oath/promise as President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia for the period 2024-2029 on October 20. Come on, look at the history of the inauguration of the president on October 20 in the following review.

As we know, October 20 is the date chosen as the day of the presidential inauguration.

Since the era of Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) to Joko Widodo (Jokowi), the Presidents of the Republic of Indonesia, except Megawati Soekarnoputri, were sworn in on that date.

Megawati was not sworn in on October 20 because the previous President, Gus Dur, was removed before his term of office expired.

Based on historical defects, Gus Dur was removed on July 23, 2001, based on the MPR Special Session. He is considered to have violated state matters after issuing a mission to freeze the MPR/DPR and Golkar Party institutions. In the afternoon, Megawati took her oath as the 5th President of the Republic of Indonesia.

The history of the inauguration of the President on October 20 began when Gus Dur was elected as the 4th President of the Republic of Indonesia at the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) which was held on Wednesday, October 20, 1999.

During the trial, Gus Dur won 373 votes, winning over Megawati with 313 votes.

Then on that same day, Gus Dur was inaugurated as the 4th President of the Republic of Indonesia, replacing BJ Habibie.

Since then, the President and Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia were sworn in on October 20. Starting from the 6th President of the Republic of Indonesia Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono who two terms led Indonesia accompanied by the 10th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla and the 11th Vice President Ri Boediono.

Furthermore, the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo who also led Indonesia for two terms with the 12th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla and the 13th Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Ma'ruf Amin.

Only the 5th President of the Republic of Indonesia Megawati Soekarnoputri was not inaugurated on October 20, because she replaced Gus Dur who was removed through an impeachment drama on July 23, 2001. At that time, Megawati served as Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia.

So, why is the inauguration of the president and vice president always on October 20?

Based on information compiled by VOI, initially, there was no provision that the President should be sworn in on that date.

Article 428 paragraph (1) of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning General Elections only states that the elected President and Vice President must swear according to religion before the MPR plenary session.

Likewise, the 1945 Constitution (UUD) of the Republic of Indonesia (NRI) did not mention details regarding the date of inauguration of the president and vice president.

Article 7 of the Law only regulates the duration of the presidential term. The article reads as follows:

The President and Vice President hold office for five years, and his successor can be re-elected in the same office, only for one term of office.

Next, Article 9 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia regulates the taking of oaths or promises that read:

Before holding his position, the President and Vice President vowed according to religion, or made serious promises before the People's Consultative Assembly and the House of Representatives.

Regarding October 20 as the date of the presidential inauguration, this refers to the end of the previous presidential term.

In order to avoid a vacancy in office, the new president must be sworn in on the same day when the previous presidential term ends.

The following is the term of office of the President of the Republic of Indonesia from time to time based on the time of inauguration and the end of the presidential term:

1. Ir Soekarno

inaugurated on August 18, 1945, after taking office on March 12, 1967

2. Suharto

Inaugurated On March 12, 1967, after taking office on May 21, 1988

3. BJ Habibie

Inaugurated On May 21, 1988, after taking office on October 20, 1999,

4. Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur)

Inaugurated on October 20, 1999, finished serving July 23, 2001

5. Megawati Soekarnoputri

Inaugurated on July 23, 2001, after taking office on October 20, 2001

6. Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Inaugurated On October 20, 2004, after taking office on October 20, 2014

7. Joko Widodo

Inaugurated On October 20, 2014, after taking office on October 20, 2024

8. Prabowo Subianto

To be sworn in on October 20, 2024, and completed office on October 20, 2029.

This is information about the history of the inauguration of the president on October 20. Get news updates of other options only on VOI.ID.