PDIP Demands Regional Elections Still Be Held on December 9

Sekjen PDIP Hasto Kristiyanto dalam sebuah acara kepartaian (Foto: DPP PDIP)

JAKARTA - PDIP Secretary-General, Hasto Kristiyanto, asked the 2020 Pilkada to continue, even though Indonesia is still in the middle of a pandemic. According to him, an area must be led by those who have a mandate from their people to run the government.

"The postponement of regional elections amid a pandemic will create new uncertainties. The regional heads will end in February," said Hasto in a written statement on Monday, September 21.

Besides, the 2020 Pilkada must continue. It is not clear when the COVID-19 pandemic will end. If this election is postponed, there will be many regional heads who will be filled by the task force.

In fact, in times of crisis like this, no political office should be filled by the task force. All regional heads, he said, must have strong legitimacy and legality.

"The Pilkada actually provides certainty. So, there are strong leaders. Some leaders have a COVID prevention program. They could be elected by the people," he said.

"Those prospective leaders will fully understand the entire priority scale. When the regional elections aren't postponed, it will provide certainty for the people," added Hasto.

It is known, some parties have argued for the 2020 Pilkada to be postponed first due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), Jusuf Kalla, suggested that the 2020 Pilkada should be postponed. Until the COVID-19 vaccine is found.

This suggestion is based on the many violations of the COVID-19 prevention protocol. Many prospective pairs of candidates gathered a crowd. 

"It would be better to reconsider the time," said JK at BPMJ Polda Metro Jaya, South Jakarta, Saturday, September 19.

JK said it would be better if the implementation of the pilkada be postponed until the COVID-19 vaccine has been injected into the wider community. So, there is no more worry about a spike in COVID-19 cases.

"I suggest postponing it for a few months until a vaccine is found. If a vaccine is found, then (the number of cases) will immediately decrease," he said.

The Presidium of the Action Coalition to Save Indonesia (KAMI), Gatot Nurmantyo, also asked the government of President Joko Widodo to postpone the 2020 regional elections.

"The Action Coalition to Save Indonesia (KAMI) asked the General Election Commission (KPU), and state officials, the Government, to cancel/postpone the regional election. At least, until it is safe for the people of Indonesia. "KAMI Presidium, Gatot Nurmantyo, said in a written statement, Sunday, September 20 evening.

"The KPU and the government need to have a sense of crisis about the COVID-19 pandemic," ​​he added.

Regarding this pressure, the Government has currently prepared two options. The first is to issue a Government Regulation in Lieu of a Law (Perppu) or revise the regional election regulations and their derivatives during a pandemic.

The Perppu issuance options will be divided into two. First, a Perppu that's issued to regulate the overall problem of COVID-19 during the implementation of regional elections. Starting from prevention to law enforcement. Second, this Perppu will specifically regulate the COVID-19 protocol.

Pilkada 2020

The Regional Head Election or Pilkada 2020 will be special compared to other democratic parties. The 2020 Pilkada will go down in history. It's because this election is held during an emergency period of COVID-19.

To provide legal certainty, the Government issued the KPU Regulation No. 6/2020 or PKPU No. 6/2020. The regulation contains rules for implementing health protocols at each stage of the Pilkada.

The KPU has prepared a simulation of the voting and counting process at polling stations. It will involve the COVID-19 Handling Task Force. In its application, the KPU must prioritize the use of digital media for campaigns. Besides, the KPU also limits the face-to-face socialization participants. The number of masses who accompany the registration process for candidate pilkada participants to the KPU is also limited.

Everyone should apply health protocols, including prospective candidates. One of its applications is the submission of registration documents for the candidate pair Pilkada as regulated in Article 49 Paragraph (1) PKPU 6/2020.

The regulation stipulates that the documents must be wrapped in a material that is resistant to liquid substances. Then, before handing it over to the officer, the document will be sprayed with a disinfectant liquid.

Under the regulation, document receiving officers are required to wear personal protective equipment. Such as masks and disposable gloves. Other rules: limit the number of people in the room. Crowd-making is prohibited. Submission of documents must be spaced and queued, and all parties brought their respective stationery. They should avoid physical contact. The last one is the provision of adequate sanitation facilities, and the room should be kept clean.

Apart from the registration process, the campaign and voting will be different from normal conditions. In the campaign process, the health protocol rules are listed in Articles 57-64.

In the 2020 Pilkada, candidate pairs must limit themselves to meeting the public as much as possible. Public discussions must be held in broadcasting studios. Supporters are not allowed to attend these events.

To realize this regulation, the Government has added a budget for the 2020 Pilkada. Based on data from the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) at the end of last August, the total regional election budget was IDR 15.22 trillion. Meanwhile, the regional government disbursed IDR 12.01 trillion or 92.05%. So, there is still 7.95% or IDR 1.21 trillion that has not been disbursed.

This amount includes an additional budget as a cost to anticipate the spread of COVID-19. For the General Election Commission (KPU), the additional budget is IDR 4.7 trillion, Bawaslu IDR 478 billion, and the Honorary Board of Election Organizers (DKPP) IDR 39 billion, supported by the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN).