NasDem: Jokowi's Performance Should Be Appreciated But Don't Be Manipulated As If The Public Wants To Postpone Elections

Saan Mustopa/DOC ANTARA

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Commission II Saan Mustopa asked that the high level of satisfaction of the government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) is not manipulated as a basis for delaying the 2024 General Election (Pemilu).

This was conveyed by Saan in response to the polemic of postponing the 2024 General Election. According to him, the public's appreciation of the current government is not allowed, but NasDem still adheres to the constitution in which the president's term of office is only five years.

"As a coalition political party and a party that supports Pak Jokowi, NasDem is proud of the level of public satisfaction with Pak Jokowi's performance," said Saan at the LSI survey release event regarding the plan to increase his term of office which was broadcast online, Thursday, March 3.

"That Pak Jokowi's performance gets high appreciation from the public, but that high appreciation should also not be manipulated as if the public wants a postponement of the election or an extension of the presidential term," added the NasDem politician.

Saan reminded all parties to obey the constitution, in which elections must be held every five years and limiting the presidential term to only two terms.

Saan also emphasized that the general chairman of the NasDem Party, Surya Paloh, had also been firm. Thus, NasDem is no longer interested in responding further to the issue of delaying the 2024 election.

"Pak Surya Paloh conveyed that even though for example, love, sincerity towards Pak Jokowi, appreciation for Pak Jokowi with all his greatness but the constitution limits it. This is clear and has been conveyed by Pak Surya Paloh with various statements, firstly not interested in this issue and secondly, The train is already running, it can't be stopped," he said.

Previously reported, the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) released a survey related to public attitudes towards the postponement of the 2024 General Election (Pemilu) and the presidential term.

As a result, the majority of respondents expressed their rejection of extending the presidential term on the grounds that there was a COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery. This was conveyed by the Executive Director of LSI, Djayadi Hanan.

"Overall, 70.7 percent reject the extension of the presidential term. Among those who know about this issue, the rejection is even higher, namely 74 percent," said Djayadi when releasing the results of an online survey broadcast on YouTube LSI, Thursday, March 3.

"Meanwhile, among those who do not know about this issue, the rejection rate is lower, but the majority is still 67.5 percent," he added.

For information, the issue of postponing the election was first raised by the Head of BKPM Bahlil Lahadalia. This was conveyed by Bahlil after absorbing voices from businessmen.

Then, this discourse was re-rolled by PKB Chairman Muhaimin Iskandar last week proposing the 2024 Election to be postponed by 1-2 years in order to maintain the momentum of national economic recovery.

Muhaimin's proposal was welcomed by the General Chairman of PAN, Zulkifli Hasan. He openly supports the discourse that the 2024 General Election is postponed due to economic reasons, the pandemic, and people's satisfaction with the government's performance which is believed to be high.

In addition, a similar proposal was also submitted by the General Chairperson of the Golkar Party, Airlangga Hartarto. He admitted that he received aspirations from farmers in Libo Jaya Village, Siak Regency who wanted the continuation of the government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi).