Legal Expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra: Election Postponement Has No Constitutional Basis

JAKARTA - The political world of the country in recent times has been quite boisterous with the emergence of a number of proposals related to the postponement of the General Election (Pemilu) which should be held in 2024.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has not yet been fully resolved, as well as the positive improvement in the national economy, have prompted a number of political parties (political parties) and public figures to propose it as a priority program that will become the government's main focus in the next few years.

Meanwhile, the implementation of the 2024 General Election at the same time is considered not to be urgent, so it can still be postponed until the situation is deemed conducive.

Responding to the wave of proposals, President Joko Widodo emphasized that all Indonesian citizens (WNI) must obey and obey the state constitution, namely the 1945 Constitution.

The expert on constitutional law, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, also agreed with the President's assessment that the proposed postponement of the election could not be implemented because it violated Article 22E paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution which ordered that elections be held every five years.

In his writings circulating in the media, Saturday, March 5, Yusril stated that the election was indeed necessary to fill state positions whose terms of office had ended. So if the election is postponed, there will be a power vacuum.

"Because once their position ends after five years, these officials, from the President to members of the DPRD, have their status as former officials, aka cannot take any position actions on behalf of their positions," said Yusril.

Meanwhile, if the former officials force themselves to act as if they were legitimate officials, according to Yusril, then the people have the right to disobey their actions. And if such a situation occurs, then what happens is a situation of anarchy, where everyone feels they can do whatever they want.

"The country will fall apart because of it. Law and order has disappeared completely. So with the President's statement that all parties must obey and obey the constitution, there is no choice at this time but to carry out elections according to schedule," said Yusril.

According to Yusril, the solution that can be looked at is holding the general election in a simpler way, for example using digital elections by utilizing the current information technology. That way, it is possible for the public to vote for the Legislative Election (pileg) and also the Presidential Election (Pilpres) using their respective cellphones. "The campaign is simple, the calculation is fast, and the fraud can be minimized," said Yusril.

Yusril also emphasized that the proposed postponement of the election must first find a constitutional basis. According to him, the most likely thing is to amend the 45 Constitution. Without the amendment, postponing the election is a real violation of the 45 Constitution.

"The risk of violating the 45 Constitution is a serious problem. Even the President if he violates the 45 Constitution can be impeached by the MPR. Of course, through the impeachment process as regulated in the 45 Constitution. Now, which party wants to make amendments to the 45 Constitution? playing with something, if we realize that it is a form of violation of the 45 Constitution," said Yusril.