Regarding The DKJ Bill, NasDem Urges The Governor And Mayor Of Jakarta To Be Elected Through The Pilkada

Member of the House of Representatives from the NasDem Faction, Taufik Basari (Nailin/VOI)

JAKARTA - The Draft Law on the Special Region of Jakarta (RUU DKJ) has become a hot topic of conversation among the public, especially regarding the issue of removing regional head elections in DKI Jakarta after it is no longer the capital city.

NasDem faction member, Taufik Basari, emphasized his rejection of the proposal that the Governor of Jakarta be appointed directly by the president. NasDem continues to fight for the Governor of Jakarta to be elected through the Pilkada, including the election of the Mayor.

"In the view of the NasDem Faction when we agreed on the DKJ Bill in Baleg some time ago, we emphasized the importance of the election of governors through the Pilkada. We reject the idea of election or appointment of governor by the president, and we also support that the mayor election is also carried out through the Pilkada," said Taufik Basari at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday, March 7.

"This means that the governors and mayors will be directly elected by the people through the regional elections," he added.

Taufik emphasized the reason behind his stance. According to him, so far the election for governor in Jakarta has been carried out directly by the people. Therefore, he argues that revoking people's rights in this election will be a setback for democracy.

"In addition, we hope that the DKJ Bill will garner public participation in the development and policy process in Jakarta. However, when the election for governors is no longer carried out directly by the people, this will limit community participation in the development," said Taufik, who is familiarly called Tobas.

NasDem also hopes that this bill will not be used by certain parties for political interests in Jakarta, especially by relating it to Jakarta's plan as a national economic center.

"In addition to expressing the views of the NasDem Faction, we are also actively lobbying other factions to jointly support the direct election of governors by the people," he added.