Ministry Of Home Affairs Prepares Plt And Acting Regional Heads Who Will Participate In The 2020 Pilkada

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian (Photo: Public Relations of the Ministry of Home Affairs)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) is preparing the positions of acting (plt) and temporary officials (pjs) ahead of the 2020 simultaneous regional head elections (Pilkada).

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian said the plt and pjs schemes were needed to anticipate the vacant position of regional heads who returned to participate in the political contestation.

"For regional heads who do not progress, he will remain in office, if the regional head advances then the deputy will become plt, if both partners progress, they must be replaced by pjs," said Tito in the 2020 Regional Election Readiness Coordination Meeting in the Central Sulawesi Governor Office Hall, Friday , July 17th.

The regulations for the provision of plt and pjs refer to Articles 65 and 66 of Law (UU) Number 23 of 2014 concerning Regional Government (Pemda).

Tito said, Acting is held by the Deputy Governor, Deputy Regent and Deputy Mayor, if the Governor, Regent and Mayor in an area are temporarily unavailable.

Meanwhile, the Acting is elected if at the time the incumbent regional head and deputy regional head pair advances again in the regional head election (Pilkada), there is an obligation to take leave for the entire campaign period.

"Acting will later be submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs, later the Ministry of Home Affairs will decide," concluded the Minister of Home Affairs.

As is known, there are 270 regions consisting of 9 provinces, 224 regencies, and 37 cities that will hold the 2020 Regional Election.

As many as 70 regions are predicted to have the potential for regional heads to run again as candidates for incumbents. In details, there are 7 governors, 7 deputy governors, 181 regents, 221 deputy regents, 29 mayors and 29 deputy mayors.

It is planned that the implementation of voting day is scheduled for December 9, 2020. However, the schedule could be postponed again if the emergency situation for the COVID-19 disaster has not ended.

"However, if at the time of the election the emergency conditions for the COVID-19 outbreak are still not finished or increasing, the simultaneous regional elections can be rescheduled with a joint agreement between the KPU, the government and the DPR," said Tito.

The legal umbrella for the implementation of the 2020 Pilkada has been passed in a Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) Number 2 of 2020 which is now a Law.

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There are a number of changes that have taken place in the Pilkada Law which regulates the matter of postponing the elections due to a non-natural disaster on a national scale. There are three articles that are amended, including the following.

Article 120 is amended to:

(1) In the event that in part of an electoral area, the entire electoral area, a large part of the region, or the entire area, riots occur, security disturbances, natural disasters, non-natural disasters, or other disturbances which result in part of the stages of holding elections or simultaneous elections being unable to be carried out continuation selection or continuation selection.

(2) The implementation of a further election or a further simultaneous election as referred to in paragraph (1) starts from the stage of holding the election or simultaneous election which has stopped.

Between Article 122 and Article 123 is inserted 1 article, namely Article 122A which reads as follows:

Article 122A

(1) The continued simultaneous election as referred to in Article 120 shall be carried out after the stipulation of the postponement of the simultaneous election implementation stages by the KPU Decree is issued.

(2) The determination of the postponement of the simultaneous election implementation stages as well as the implementation of further simultaneous elections as referred to in paragraph (1) shall be carried out with the mutual consent of the KPU, the Government and the House of Representatives.

(3) Further provisions regarding the procedure and time for the implementation of further simultaneous Elections are regulated in KPU regulations.

Between Article 201 and Article 202 is inserted 1 article, namely Article 201A which reads as follows:

Article 201A

(1) The simultaneous voting as referred to in Article 201 paragraph (6) is postponed due to a non-natural disaster as referred to in Article 120 paragraph (1).

(2) The postponed simultaneous voting as referred to in paragraph (1) shall be held in December 2020.

(3) In the event that simultaneous voting as referred to in paragraph (21) cannot be implemented, simultaneous voting is postponed and rescheduled as soon as the non-natural disaster as referred to in paragraph (1) ends, through the mechanism as referred to in Article 122A.

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