Golkar Legislators Regarding The Vice President's Proposal Appointed By The President: Just Return To The Constitution

JAKARTA - Member of Commission I DPR RI from the Golkar Party faction, Dave Akbarshah Fikarno or Dave Laksono, responded to the proposal that the vice president (wapres) be elected by the elected president and determined by the MPR RI.

According to Dave, the provisions regarding the presidential and vice presidential elections have been clearly regulated in the 1945 Constitution.

"That's the constitution, we say that the presidents and vice presidents are directly elected by the people. Yes, we will return to the Basic Law," said Dave at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday, July 8.

He added that until now the Golkar Party faction had never discussed the proposal internally. However, he believes that the faction's attitude will still refer to the prevailing constitutional rules.

"I haven't had any discussion yet. I don't know. I just say that we side with the Basic Law," said the legislator from the West Java electoral district.

The proposal for the presidential election mechanism to be carried out by the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) based on the name proposed by the elected president was previously submitted by the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court (MK), Jimly Asshiddiqie.

Jimly said that the idea still maintains the direct presidential election by the people, but opens up space for the vice president's position to be determined by the MPR through a proposal from the elected president.

The proposal received a response from the Deputy Chairperson of the Golkar Party, Bambang Soesatyo. He considered Jimly's ideas to be considered, especially in the context of the dynamics of democracy and a more stable government system.

"Amid the demands of more substantial democratization and the need for strong government stability, the separation of the mechanism for presidential and vice presidential elections can be a solution to a number of systemic problems in our electoral democratic practices," said Bambang while attending the launch of the book The Indonesian State Apparatus System After the Amendment to the 1945 Constitution at the Kompas Office, Jakarta, Friday, July 4.

According to him, the proposal is relevant in an indefinite situation of 20 percent of presidential candidacy, and can reduce the political pressure that arises in the nomination process for presidential-cawapres pairs.

"One of them is the pressure of political compromise in the process of nominating presidential and vice-presidential candidates who often cause distortion of the direction of national leadership," said the former chairman of the MPR RI.