Chairman Of Wantimpres Wiranto Meets With BEM Nusantara To Discuss Rejection Of Postponing 2024 Elections

Chairman of the Wantimpres General TNI (Purn) Wiranto (center) after a meeting with BEM Nusantara at the Wantimpres Office, Jakarta, Friday (8/4). (ANTARA/Indra Arief)

JAKARTA - The Presidential Advisory Council (Wantimpres) received representatives from the Nusantara Student Executive Board (BEM) and heard various student aspirations regarding various issues, including the increase in the price of basic commodities to the refusal to extend the presidential term and postpone the 2024 election.

"Today, with the permission of the President, we held a meeting with BEM Nusantara to communicate things that this country is currently facing," said Chairman of the Wantimpres General TNI (Ret.) Wiranto after a meeting with BEM Nusantara at the Wantimpres office, Jakarta, as reported by Antara, Friday, April 8th.

Wiranto conveyed many aspirations that were voiced by BEM Nusantara at this Friday's meeting, among others, the issue of rising cooking oil prices and the alleged existence of a cartel. Then, the problem of the increase in the price of basic commodities before Eid,

BEM Nusantara also expressed aspirations regarding the imposition of taxes, the issue of national energy security, and the refusal to extend the presidential term to three terms which resulted in the postponement of the 2024 election.

Wiranto briefly explained to BEM Nusantara the discourse of extending the presidential term to three terms and that a delay in the 2024 General Election was rationally impossible.

“Earlier my friends argued about it. So the answer is yes it is impossible. Why ? first, because it concerns the 1945 Constitution, amending the 1945 Constitution is very difficult. If the requirements include the will of the Indonesian people, it will be presented in the majority in the MPR," said Wiranto.

In the MPR membership, there are members of the DPR and DPD. According to Wiranto, of the nine political party factions in the DPR, six of them refused to extend the presidential term. Meanwhile, the DPD, said Wiranto, has already expressed its rejection of the discourse.

“(MPR membership) plus DPD. DPD does not agree. So how can there be an amendment to the 1945 Constitution regarding the three-term presidential term,” said the former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs. Wiranto explained that there should be effective public communication between the government and the community. With this dialogue on Friday, he hopes that public communication between the government and the community, including students, can be more effective and be able to avoid misunderstandings. We are still trapped in discourses that are actually impossible to implement," said Wiranto.