Change Articles In The Law For The Sake Of A Three-Term President, Bivitri Susanti: A Betrayal Of The Constitution!

Illustration of the 2024 Election. (Antaranews)

JAKARTA - An expert in constitutional law from the Indonesian Jentera School of Law (STH), Bivitri Susanti, considers extending the term of office of the president an effort to coerce that is not lawful.

He asked the parties or political elites who pushed the discourse to reflect on the case of the UI Chancellor who violated the constitution, finally being approved for concurrent positions on the basis that the regulations had been adjusted.

"We have experienced several situations where his behavior was wrong, the regulations were changed. Maybe remember the incident when the UI Chancellor, PP [Government Regulation Number 75/2021] was changed," said Bivitri in a discussion entitled 'Constitutional Democracy Under Threat', Wednesday 16 March.

Bivitri reminded that the UI Chancellor's case could be experienced again by Indonesia if the discourse of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) for three periods was realized at the Senayan Parliament Complex or the General Elections Commission (KPU). He warned that the behavior should not be unconstitutional, but that the constitution should be changed.

"Not until now there is something unconstitutional, but the constitution has been changed. Now, I think this is what I think is also misled by the wrong logic that the constitution is only a text. The constitution is not a text, but the idea of limiting power," said Bivitri.

According to Bivitri, constitutionalism has two meanings; restrictions and human rights. So if you force your will to violate these two principles, by trying to change the article in the law, it can be concluded that the party is committing an unconstitutional act.

"It's a betrayal of the constitution!" he insisted.

Previously, the discourse on the 2024 Election was postponed came from PKB General Chair Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar or Cak Imin. The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives reasoned that the election contestation could have a negative impact on economic improvement.

Cak Imin said the discourse came from MSME actors and economic researchers he met at the Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta.

"From my visit to the region and seeing the positive prospects going forward, this good momentum in the future should not be ignored. Therefore, I see that in 2024 the elections that we plan to hold in February, do not let the good economic prospects it was disrupted because of the election," said Cak Imin at the DPR Building, Jakarta, Wednesday, February 23.

The idea was then welcomed by the General Chair of the Golkar Party, Airlangga Hartarto, and the General Chair of PAN, Zulkifli Hasan alias Zulhas.

Airlangga expressed his support for the extension of President Jokowi's term of office after making a working visit (kunker) to Siak, Pekanbaru, Thursday, February 24. He said, absorbing the aspirations of farmers in Siak so that he agreed to Jokowi's three-term discourse.

After the visit, Airlangga discussed the matter with top Golkar Party officials in a closed meeting.

"We will discuss these aspirations with the leaders of other political parties, and for us, for the Golkar party, the aspirations of the people are the aspirations of the party, because we will continue to accept the aspirations of the people and will of course distribute them," said Airlangga in a written statement.

Zulhas voiced the extension of the power of the head of state. He argued that the COVID-19 pandemic, the unstable economy, Russia's war with Ukraine, and the delay in the current government program were the reasons for agreeing to extend Jokowi's term as president.

"PAN agrees that the election should be considered postponed," said Zulhas, Friday, February 25.

Recently, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, claimed that he had big data containing 110 million Twitter citizens who wanted the 2024 elections to be postponed. However, until now Luhut is reluctant to open his big data to the public.

"Because of this, we have big data, I want to see, we have big data, from that big data, we grab around 110 million. Yes, 110 million, various kinds, Facebook, all kinds of things, because people "People are on Twitter, about 110 million people," said Luhut, quoted from Deddy Corbusier's YouTube channel.