The Importance Of The Election Law Umbrella Related To Papua New Guinea, This Is An Explanation Of Needdem

Illustration of the 2024 Election. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Executive Director of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), Khoirunnisa Nur Agustyati, explained the importance of the existence of a legal umbrella regarding the 2024 Election following the existence of three new autonomous regions (DOB) Papua.

According to Ninis, who is familiarly called Khoirunnisa Nur Agustyati, when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Monday, the existence of this legal umbrella is important in answering certainty regarding adjustments to several matters, such as the number of seats in the Indonesian House of Representatives(DPR RI), the establishment of electoral districts, and provisions for the existence of management and political party offices in all provinces in their verification as election participants.

"In the Election Law, regulates the procedure for seat allocation and the formation of electoral districts. In the Election Law, it has been stipulated that the number of seats in the DPR RI is 575. Then, the electoral districts for the DPR and the provincial DPRD have become annexes to the Election Law. This means that everything is locked in the Election Law, so with the existence of this new autonomous region, there needs to be a new legal umbrella," she said, recorded by Antara.

Furthermore, Ninis explained the certainty about the addition of seats in the DPR RI which needs to be determined by the government in the legal umbrella for elections following the existence of the three Papua New Guineans.

The government, he said, needs to ensure whether or not there will be additional seats in the DPR RI, considering that the Election Law states that each province gets a minimum of three seats.

"Will the number of seats in the DPR be increased because, in the Election Law, it is also stated that each province gets a minimum of 3 seats? Then, the addition of these seats will take seats from the parent or add new seats", said Ninis.

Next, Ninis said that the government needs to ensure provisions regarding the management and offices of political parties that must exist in all provinces.

As contained in Article 173 paragraph (2) of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning Elections, it is stated that political parties become election participants after fulfilling the requirements, which include having management in all provinces and having permanent offices for management at the central, provincial, and district/city levels until the final stages of the election.

Thus, said Ninis, the government needs to provide certainty whether political parties in verification as election participants must also have management and offices in the three Papua New Guineans.

"Later on, candidates for political parties participating in the election will be verified regarding offices that must be in 100 percent of the number of provinces, now are these 34 provinces or 37 provinces", she said.

In addition, Ninis also said that these certainties need to be immediately included in the legal umbrella regarding elections following the 3 new autonomous regions of Papua because the 2024 stage has begun.

"Because the election stages have started and the month has started to enter the registration and verification stages of political parties, so there needs to be immediate certainty", said Ninis.

Previously, the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam), Mahfud MD, had said that the government would consider making a legal umbrella regarding elections following the three new autonomous regions of Papua which were just ratified some time ago, namely Central Papua, Highlands Papua, and Papua. South.

"The legal umbrella (election) is being considered", he said.

Mahfud also said several points would be noted regarding the issue of the occupancy of legislative representatives at the central level and regional expansion based on elections.