Simultaneous Pilkada Still Held November 2024, Mahfud MD: Good To Stop Jokowi's Steps To Intervene

President Jokowi and Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD at the State Palace in Jakarta (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Candidate for Vice President number three, Mahfud MD admitted that he saluted and appreciated the steps taken by the Constitutional Court to hold a simultaneous Regional Election (Pilkada) in November 2024.

It is known, in September 2023, the Government through the Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) proposed to the DPR that the implementation of the regional elections be accelerated to September 2024. However, the Constitutional Court rejected the proposal and returned the Pilkada event to be held in November.

He saw that the Constitutional Court's decision could eliminate allegations of confusion over the government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to intervene in the 2024 simultaneous regional elections.

"It is very good to stop the alleged steps of Pak Jokowi to control the 2024 regional elections. The election schedule is precisely November 27, 2024," Mahfud said after the exercise at Gelora Bung Karno Senayan Jakarta on Friday, March 1.

Mahfud MD admitted that he heard that the public suspected that the proposed Pilkada Bill was only to give President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) or Pak Jokowi a chance to arrange regional elections throughout Indonesia.

With the Pilkada schedule not being changed, he said, it will be the new government that will control the 2024 Pilkada.

For this reason, according to him, the Constitutional Court's decision reflects that the Constitutional Court has returned to its conscience.

"The Constitutional Court has also returned to its conscience, he decided that the regional elections must remain on schedule, namely November 27. If you want to move forward, it will remain in November 2024, thus those who control this will be the new government later, I don't know who the new government is, Mr. Prabowo, it could be Anies, it could be Ganjar, it depends," he said.

He also appreciated the two students who had filed the lawsuit.

According to him, the two students are very smart and have a far-forward view of democracy.

"Therefore, I salute, one to ahmad Al Farizy and Nur Fauzi, students who are very smart and have a far-fetched view so that this democracy is not being processed again," he said.

"Then I saluted the Constitutional Court, now it has started to return to its conscience, continue this courage, for the sake of a good Indonesia," he continued.

As previously reported, the Constitutional Court (MK) emphasized that the schedule for regional head elections (Pilkada) should not be changed and must be consistent.

The statement was mandated by the Constitutional Court in Decision Number 12/PUU-XXI/2024. The lawsuit was filed by two students, named Ahmad Al Farizy and Nur Fauzi Ramadhan.

Basically, the Constitutional Court rejected, both the provision application and the main petition submitted by the Petitioners.

However, in the legal consideration of this decision, Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh said that the Pilkada schedule should not be changed.

This is important to do to avoid overlapping of the crucial stages of the 2024 simultaneous regional elections with the 2024 election stages that have not been completed.

"That given the importance of the stages of organizing the determined regional elections which apparently have implications for the simultaneous meaning of regional elections nationally, the Court needs to emphasize the schedule that has been set in Article 201 paragraph (8) of the Pilkada Law which states, national simultaneous voting in the election of governors and deputy governors, regents, and deputy regents, as well as mayors and deputy mayors throughout the unitary state of the Indonesian republic will be held in November 2024," said Daniel.

"Therefore, the regional elections must be carried out in accordance with the referred schedule consistently to avoid overlapping the crucial stages of the 2024 regional elections with the unfinished 2024 election stages," he continued.

The Court considered that changing the schedule of regional elections would disrupt and threaten the constitutionality of the simultaneous regional elections.

Meanwhile, in the same decision, the Court also emphasized that the General Election Commission (KPU) requires candidates for DPR members, DPD members, and elected DPRD members who run for regional heads to make a statement that they are willing to resign, if they have been officially inaugurated as members of the DPR, members of the DPD, and members of the DPRD if they continue to run as regional heads.