Muhammadiyah Urges The 2020 Pilkada To Be Postponed For Public Safety

General election illustration (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The pressure for the government to postpone the implementation of the 2020 Regional Head Election (Pilkada) which will be held on December 9, was conveyed by the Muhammadiyah Central Leadership (PP). This delay needs to be done for the safety of the community.

"Regarding the 2020 Regional Head Elections (Pemilukada), the Muhammadiyah Central Leadership urged the General Election Commission (KPU) to immediately discuss specifically with the Ministry of Home Affairs, DPR and related agencies so that their implementation can be reviewed," they wrote in their official statement. signed by the General Chairperson of PP Muhammadiyah Haedar Nashir and General Secretary of PP Muhammadiyah Abdul Mu'ti, Monday, September 21.

"Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and for the sake of the nation's safety and ensuring quality implementation, the KPU should consider carefully so that the 2020 Regional Head General Election will be postponed until conditions allow," they added.

According to Muhammadiyah, this delay needs to be done because public safety is far more important than the implementation of the 2020 Pilkada which has the potential to cause a new cluster of COVID-19 transmission.

Apart from Muhammadiyah, other religious organizations, namely the Nahdatul Ulama Board (PBNU) also asked the KPU, the government, and the DPR RI to postpone the holding of the 2020 Concurrent Regional Head Election in order to maintain people's health.

"Requesting the General Election Commission of the Republic of Indonesia, the Government, and the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia to postpone the implementation of the 2020 Pilkada Simultaneous stages until the health emergency phase has passed," said PBNU Chairman Said Aqil Siroj in a statement in Jakarta September.

The implementation of the pilkada, even with a tightened health protocol, is considered difficult to avoid the concentration of large numbers of people in all its stages.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) also asked to reallocate the regional election budget for handling the health crisis and strengthening social safety nets.

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 rules for the elections and their derivatives in the midst of a pandemic.

The Perppu issuance options will be divided into two. First, the Perppu was 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.