The DPR's Various Responses To Minister Bahlil Asking For The Schedule Of The 2024 Presidential Election To Be Postponed

JAKARTA - The Indonesian House of Representatives regrets the investment minister's statement, Bahlil Lahadalia, who claims that the business world hopes that the 2024 election schedule will be postponed or that the term of office of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) be extended to 2027. The reason is due to economic considerations due to the pandemic.

The statement also received various responses and criticisms. Parliament, both cross-commission and compact factions rejected the issue because it was not in accordance with the constitution. So, what is the response of the council?

PKB

Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the DPR RI PKB faction, Luqman Hakim, said Bahlil Lahadalia's statement showed that the person concerned did not understand the constitution of this country.

"Election practices during the Old Order and New Order eras that Bahlil uses as examples of what can be done today, further show that he has never read the constitution, namely the 1945 Constitution," said Luqman at the DPR Building, Tuesday, January 11.

According to Luqman, it is clearly regulated in Article 7 of the 1945 Constitution that the president and vice president hold office for five years and can be re-elected to the same position. Article 6A of the 1945 Constitution confirms that the president and vice president are elected by the people in pairs through general elections.

"Article 22E of the 1945 Constitution emphasizes that general elections must be held every five years. Elections are held to elect the DPR, DPD, President/Vice President and DPRD," said Luqman.

In addition, continued the Deputy Secretary General of the PKB DPP, it is also important to emphasize that in the constitution there is no norm that allows the president/vice president to have an extended term of office. While using economic reasons to delay the change of president, said Luqman, it is very unreasonable and far-fetched.

"The holding of elections to elect the president/vice president, can actually be a trigger for the movement and growth of the national economy. Elections in Indonesia have never been a factor causing the economic crisis. That's clear!" he insisted.

The head of PP GP Ansor reminded that efforts to delay the holding of the 2024 general election so that there would be no change of president/vice president is unconstitutional, anti-democratic and against people's sovereignty.

"Considering that Bahlil is a member of President Jokowi's Cabinet, I ask the President to reprimand him," said Luqman.

"This warning is important to be given by the President, so that there is no crisis of confidence that could interfere with the effectiveness of President Jokowi's leadership," he said.

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Gerindra

The Deputy Chairperson of the Honorary Council Council (MKD) from the Gerindra faction, Habiburokhman, assessed that there were no statutory regulations or the mandate of the 1945 Constitution which stated that the election could be postponed. He was surprised that Bahlil could make that statement.

"Yes, it is a clear law. If it is postponed, what will the constitution look like?" said Habiburokhman at the DPR Building, Tuesday, January 11.

Actually, said the member of Commission III of the DPR, Bahlil's statement was legitimate as an aspiration. But Habiburokhman said, keep in mind that the postponement of the presidential election is not in accordance with the applicable constitution. every five years," said the Deputy Chairperson of the Gerindra Party.

NasDem

Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, the NasDem Fraction, Saan Mustopa, firmly denied the claims of Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia regarding the postponement of the 2024 presidential election. Bahlil previously stated that businessmen wanted the 2024 presidential election to be postponed.

Saan emphasized that the Indonesian House of Representatives Commission II has never discussed the postponement of the 2024 General Election until now.

"In Commission II there is no discourse related to that. Commission II has confirmed that the general election is 2024," said Saan at the DPR building, Tuesday, January 11. The chairman of the West Java NasDem DPW also regretted Bahlil's statement. Saan then asked Minister Bahlil to focus on helping the government increase investment in Indonesia to make it even better.

"It's better for Mr. Bahlil to concentrate on how investment in Indonesia is growing. So that it encourages economic growth and also helps the economy a little bit," said Saan. Saan hoped that government officials would not make noise during the COVID-19 pandemic as it is today. Because he said, the government and all Indonesian people are focusing on dealing with the pandemic.

"Officials should not make the political atmosphere noisier. That's all! So just concentrate on their respective duties," said Saan Mustopa.

PPP

Member of Commission VI of the DPR PPP faction, Achmad Baidowi, emphasized that Bahlil Lahadalia's main function was not to deal with politics. "For Mr. Bahlil, you are the investment minister who takes care of economic investment, not a political investment. It is better to focus on his main duties in the field of economic investment, not politics," Awiek told reporters. According to him, there must be an amendment to change the term of office of the president.

PKS

The Deputy Chair of the MPR from the PKS faction, Hidayat Nur Wahid (HNW) considered Bahlil's claim to be very irrelevant. He said that the discourse was not only conducive to the business climate, but also not in accordance with the provisions of the constitution (UUD NKRI 1945).

According to the member of Commission VIII of the DPR, the proposal has sparked a polemic that could create legal uncertainty that is not conducive to the development of economic movement and investment.

HNW instead asked the business community, which has been assisted by hundreds of trillions of rupiah through the state budget, to focus on creating conducive conditions and complying with the provisions of the constitution. In addition, entrepreneurs should also make maximum contributions to overcome economic and social problems resulting from COVID-19.

"Because the provisions regarding the term of office of the president are not the domain of entrepreneurs, but the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. The rules are also very clear and firm," said the PKS politician.

Article 7 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia only allows the president to serve a maximum of two terms, and Article 22 E mandates that elections be held every five years, he said.

"This means that it has been fixed, there is no constitutional alternative for an extension to three periods, nor an additional three years for a second period because it is not in accordance with the constitution," said HNW to reporters, Tuesday, January 11.

Moreover, the authority to amend the provisions of the Constitution rests with the MPR (articles 3 and 37), and in the MPR there is no agenda for amending the Constitution to extend the term of office of the president.

He also emphasized that none of the MPR members proposed the change, even though the Constitution stipulates that the minimum number of proposers is 1/3 of the MPR members, which is 237 MPR members.

"So it is natural that the government and the DPR have also agreed that the elections (legislative and presidential/executive) will still be held in accordance with the provisions of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and the Election Law, namely in 2024," he said.

Bahlil said about the expectations of entrepreneurs to postpone the 2024 presidential election schedule

Previously, this was conveyed by Bahlil when commenting on the findings of a national survey entitled 'Economic Recovery Post COVID-19, Pandemic Fatigue and Electoral Dynamics Ahead of the 2024 Election' conducted by Indonesian Political Indicators.

Based on discussions held with business actors, Bahlil revealed that the reason why entrepreneurs wanted the 2024 presidential election to be postponed was to encourage the national economy, which is currently recovering.

"If we check the business world, on average, they think how the democratic process in the context of the transition of leadership is, if there is room for consideration, the process to be pushed back is much better," said Bahlil in the agenda for the findings of the Political Indicators survey, quoted Monday, January 10.

To note, the Indonesian Political Indicators survey noted that 31 percent of the public agreed if President Jokowi's term of office was extended until 2027. However, 32.9 percent of respondents did not agree and 25.1 percent did not agree at all with extending the presidential term until 2027.

The people who agree, hope that the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the national economic recovery can be completed completely.

Bahlil stated that this was in line with several discussions he had with the business world. He said the business community thought that it would be burdensome if the business world had to face political problems in the near future. In fact, according to him, the Indonesian people need to decide which issues are their priority.

"Is it a matter of resolving the pandemic, economic recovery, or choosing a new leadership through elections," he said.

According to Bahlil, all countries in the world are facing the same two big problems, namely the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.

He acknowledged that economic recovery is not an easy thing, but Indonesia's economic growth is still showing positive things, shown by the 3.5 percent achievement in the third quarter of 2021.

Although, the public has not been able to satisfy the current economic conditions, Bahlil is happy to see the increase in the level of public satisfaction with the performance of the Jokowi-Ma'ruf Amin government in the last 4 months, which reached 71 percent in December 2021 according to the survey.

“We work day and night in this cabinet and detail. Mr. President did not give orders to continue releasing. He checked to what extent, what is the problem and what is the target?” he said.

In addition, he emphasized that the business world is currently in a recovery trend after being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic which lasted from 2020 to 2021. For this reason, it is hoped that this recovery momentum will not be hampered due to political stability that is not going well.

"They have just finished being battered with health issues. This is a new business world, just about to go up, it suddenly overwrites political issues. So that's the result of my discussions with them (entrepreneurs)," he said.

Bahlil continued that the potential to advance or delay the election schedule is not something that is forbidden because it has a history in Indonesia.

He explained that in Indonesia's history, elections were held in 1997. However, reforms in 1999 meant that the elections that were supposed to be held in 2002 were accelerated and held in 1999.

"All we have to do is see what the needs of our nation are, whether the problem is solving the COVID-19 pandemic, whether the problem is restoring the economy, or the question is how we choose a new leadership through elections," he said.

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Tag: dpr politik bahlil lahadalia pilkada jakarta