PDIP Considers Revision Of The Election Law Unnecessary, Asks Simultaneous Regional Elections To Be Held In 2024

Djarot Saiful HIdayat (DOK. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - PDI Perjuangan has requested that the simultaneous regional elections (Pilkada) be held in 2024. This is following the draft law regarding regional head elections which regulates its implementation in 2020 and 2023.

According to the Chairman of the Party's Representative Council (DPP) PDIP, Djarot Saiful Hidayat, his party did agree to an evaluation of the implementation to improve the quality of Pilkada administration and the quality of democracy. However, the amendment to the Pilkada Law is considered not so important because the problem of the election is more due to the implementation aspect rather than the substance of the legislation.

"So, on this basis, the simultaneous regional elections should be held in 2024. This is in accordance with the design of the consolidation of the central and regional governments," said Djarot in his written statement, Wednesday, January 27.

The former deputy governor of DKI Jakarta also assesses that the revision of the Pilkada Law is not necessary to maintain continuity and schedule compatibility between the 2024 Legislative, Presidential, and Regional Elections. In addition, the regulations for the Pilkada Law which were actually made for 2024 have not been implemented.

"How the changes will be made? So it will be implemented first in 2024 and then evaluated," he said.

With no changes in the law, especially the Pilkada Law, in the future all energy can be focused on efforts to overcome the pandemic and all the impacts caused by Covid, especially the impact on the people's economy.

"The government and the DPR RI do not need to waste energy that has the potential for political tension due to frequent changes to the Election Law. It is better if we focus on taking care of the people so that they are immediately free from COVID-19. It is the implementation of Pilkada that is important to evaluate, not changes in the law," he said.

Previously reported, the draft Law on General Elections proposed by the DPR as of November 26, 2020, regulates that the next regional head elections (Pilkada) will be held in 2022 and 2023.

In Article 731 of the draft Election Bill, the 2022 Pilkada is carried out to elect regional heads from the 2017 elections, while the 2023 Pilkada is for regional head elections from the 2018 elections.