As A PDIP Cadre, Jokowi Is Asked To Be As Firm As His Party Regarding The Issue Of Postponing Elections And Increasing Terms Of Office

ILLUSTRATION/President Jokowi with Megawati Soekarnoputri/PHOTO VIA ANTARA

JAKARTA - Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) researcher Denny JA, Ardian Sopa asked President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to take a stand on the issue of postponing the 2024 General Election.

"Jokowi needs to follow the firmness of his own party, the PDIP, which strongly and emphatically rejects the postponement of the election and the addition of a three-term presidential term," Ardian said at an online press conference, Thursday, March 10.

Not only that, the maneuver to postpone the election and increase the presidential term of office to three terms must be stopped. Ardian assesses that this issue actually has no urgency to be addressed at this time.

Moreover, from the survey results, the public is against the postponement of the election and the addition of the presidential term. Ardian said the percentage of respondents who opposed the postponement of the election reached 68.5 percent, while those who refused to extend their term of office reached 70.3 percent.

The survey was held from February 23 to March 3 and was attended by 1,200 respondents in 34 provinces in Indonesia. The method used is qualitative research and face-to-face interviews with a margin of error of 2.9 percent.

Not only that, Ardian also assessed that the idea of postponing the election could have originated from one faction in the palace but was opposed by another faction. So it must be stopped immediately.

"Stop the maneuver to postpone the election and the president for three terms because there are no strong reasons," he stressed.

Moreover, the government is currently focusing on handling the COVID-19 pandemic and recovering the national economy. "The issue of postponing the election and the three-term president will be a negative energy that divides the focus," said Ardian.

Previously, LSI Denny JA released the results of their survey regarding public attitudes towards the issue of postponing the 2024 General Election (Pemilu) and the addition of the presidential term.

As a result, the majority of respondents rejected the issue of postponing the 2024 General Election and the addition of a presidential position. In fact, this issue is certain to wither before it develops.

There are at least four reasons underlying this belief. First, there is no strong and urgent reason to change the mandate of reform and democratic principles that have become constitutional rules in the 1945 Constitution.

Second, the seats of political parties in parliament who say they reject the postponement of the election are also more than those who support it. Next, public opposition to the two issues was very strong.

Fourth, if this issue is continued, it is feared that it could lead to social unrest and its proponents are believed to be branded as enemies of the people and traitors.