Jokowi's Discourse Could Become A Vice Presidential Candidate, KPU: No Prohibited, But There Is A Constitutional Problem

KPU chairman Hasyim Asy'ari (central) during the announcement of the registration stage for political parties in Jakarta, Friday, July 29. (ANTARA/Boyke Ledy Watra)

JAKARTA - The issue of a three-term president has not long been lost, now there is another new polemic about a president whose term of office has expired. This new commotion arose after the spokesman for the Constitutional Court, Fajar Laksono, spoke about Joko Widodo's discourse that he could become a vice presidential candidate. Although there is no prohibition, if this discourse is carried out, it will potentially cause problems. In particular, in the world of national politics. Terkait hal itu, Ketua KPU RI Hasyim Asy'ari, mengatakan aturan tersebut telah tertuang dalam norm Pasal 8 Undang Undang-Undang Dasar (UUD) 1945. Sehingga, menurutnya, bila presiden yang sudah menjabat dua periode mencalon kembali sebagai cawapres benar-benar terjadi maka akan ada masalah secara constitutional. "In the event that a person has served as President for 2 terms of office, and then ran for Vice Presidential Candidate, there is a constitutional problem as stipulated in the provisions of Article 8 of the Constitution," said Hasyim in his statement, Friday, September 16. Hasyim gave an example, if A has served as president for 2 terms of office and then ran for vice president, it remains valid and there is no prohibition in the constitution. However, he said, if B as the elected presidential candidate is sworn in as president, and A is sworn in as vice president, A cannot replace B if a situation occurs as stated in Article 8 of the 1945 Constitution. Because A has held 2 previous terms of office. "In this situation A does not meet the requirements as President as stipulated in the provisions of Article 169 letter n Law 7/2017 concerning Elections," said Hasyim.