JAKARTA - PPI executive director Adi Prayitno revealed that the restriction on the candidacy for the president and vice president's families presents a dilemma between the principles of democracy and public concerns about nepotism practices as surfaced in the 2024 election.
The reason is that in substance democracy, the political rights of every citizen should not be restricted, including for those who come from the family of the president or vice president. "Even if he may have been born in the family of the president and vice president, in substance democracy there is no one in the world who can prohibit it," he said, Sunday, March 1.
On the other hand, there is political trauma that is still etched in the public due to the dynamics of the 2024 election, when the president's children who are in power run as vice presidents, and various political policies taken by the government are often perceived by the public as benefiting the ruling family.
According to Adi, this condition creates a dilemma and paradoxical situation. On the one hand, democracy guarantees the right of every citizen to be elected and elected as long as they meet legal requirements. But on the other hand, the practice of power often gives rise to perceptions of abuse of authority.
"We cannot turn a blind eye to the practice that there is a practice that is accused of leading to nepotism, which leads to abuse of power when a person is in power, his family advances, then it seems that the policies made in many ways are considered beneficial to his family who compete," he explained.
Therefore, the debate on the restriction of presidential or vice presidential family candidacy is not merely a legal issue, but also concerns political ethics and public perceptions of the quality of democracy. The Constitutional Court, continued Adi, is a constitutional space for citizens to test and fight for interpretations of rules that are considered problematic, especially to ensure that democracy runs healthy and free from practices that are considered to hurt the sense of justice.
As is known, the provisions of the presidential and vice presidential nomination requirements in Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning Elections, especially Article 169, were sued to the Constitutional Court (MK). The application was filed by two advocates, Raden Nuh and Dian Amalia, with case number 81/PUU-XXIV/2026.
In their petition, the applicants requested that the nomination of the president and/or vice president be free from conflicts of interest that originate from blood or marriage relations with the president and/or vice president who are currently serving in one term of office. They want a ban on the core family of the president or vice president who is in power to run for office.
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