NasDem Legislator: There is No Official Proposal for the Election through the DPRD in the DPR

PIXABAY ILLUSTRATION

Member of the House of Representatives from the NasDem Party Faction, Syarif Abdullah Alkadrie, revealed that until now there has been no official proposal in the House of Representatives regarding changes to the mechanism for the election of regional heads (pilkada) from direct elections by the people to elections through the DPRD.

"There is no proposal for the Election Law or the Regional Government Law that officially discusses this. Currently, members of the Indonesian Parliament are also on a recess to the region," said Syarif Abdullah Alkadrie to reporters, Thursday, January 8.

According to him, the issue is only a discourse that emerges in the public and internal political parties. But Syarif said, this developing dynamics is part of a democratic discourse that needs to be handled wisely.

"This discourse is still evolving, it is not final, and it has not entered the stage of discussing the law. But of course we must respect various views," said the NasDem legislator from the West Kalimantan I constituency.

Syarif assessed that there were several negative aspects of the direct Pilkada implementation. One of them is the high cost of politics, which tends to be transactional so that it has the potential to make the selection of regional heads more determined by financial strength than capacity, integrity, and leadership skills.

"This is a serious problem because it can shift the main purpose of democracy, namely to present a credible and capable regional head," he said.

Even so, Syarif reminded that the election of regional heads through the DPRD is not without risk. According to him, this mechanism also has the potential to create transactional practices if it is not regulated with strict guidelines.

"If through the DPRD, of course there are concerns about the influence of oligarchs or certain interests. Therefore, if this option is considered, it must be accompanied by strict legal regulations and strong supervision," he explained.

"So don't look at it from one side only. If direct elections are maintained, there must also be a strengthening of the rules so that it is not transactional and really produces qualified regional heads," continued Syarif.

Syarif also ensured that until now there has been no discussion and decision taken by the DPR regarding changes to the gubernatorial election system. According to him, all views that arise will still be studied in depth if they are included in the legislation agenda.

"If there is indeed a discussion of the law, it will certainly involve many parties and be studied comprehensively. The public also needs to pay attention and monitor, because this concerns the future of regional democracy," he concluded.