Commission II Of The DPR Is Still In-depth Study And Accommodates Public Input On The Constitutional Court's Decision

Deputy Chairman Of Commission II Of The House Of Representatives Bahtra Banong/PHOTO: Nailin In Saroh-VOI

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the DPR Bahtra Banong revealed developments regarding the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) regarding the separation of national and regional elections which have not been officially addressed by the DPR.

Bahtra said there had been no further discussion after three weeks ago, the leadership of the DPR and Commission II of the DPR held a meeting regarding the latest Constitutional Court decision.

"Nothing yet. Because we are discussing this election, it's not only about its implementation, but the most important thing is that we also want our election to be used as a momentum to improve democracy in the future," said Bahtra at the DPR building, Jakarta, Tuesday, July 22.

Nevertheless, Bahtra assessed that the election was still long enough so that there was plenty of time to discuss and study more carefully the Constitutional Court's decision.

"I want to convey this, our election is still a long time in 2029, because the election is still long, it means that we have a long chance. Well, we take advantage of that, we use it then to study further, deeper, then accommodate public aspirations," said Bahtra.

"So what? Yes, my friends want our election, apart from implementing it better, of course it must also be of high quality. In that context, the DPR also needs a lot of input from various parties," continued the Gerindra legislator.

Because of this long time lag, continued Bahtra, Commission II of the DPR will use it to receive input from various parties.

"So that earlier, the hope of my friends as well, or the hope of the whole community so that the election will run well, the implementation will also be good, then what is no less important is the quality of the election itself," said Bahtra.

Bahtra explained that there were no obstacles and obstacles that became the reason the DPR had not issued an official statement regarding the Constitutional Court's decision.

It's just that, he said, a more in-depth study is needed, including the question of if there is a time delay regarding local elections.

"The legal basis must be sought. Because in the basic law we explain that the election is held once in five years. So if there is for example an extension of the local election time lag, then the legal basis must be sought, the formula is so that it does not violate the law," said Bahtra.

"Well, we also don't want to be careless, because on the one hand there is also a decision by the Constitutional Court, it is final and binding, but on the other hand, our basic law states that the election is held once in five years. So that's what we want to find out the formula," he concluded.