TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Setya Novanto, the House of Representative's (DPR) spokesperson, has asked Commission II to summon the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) as a follow up the ruling made by the Constitutional Court (MK) on the provisions for sole candidate pairs to compete in the upcoming regional elections.
"I have instructed Commission II to summon KPU and Bawaslu because the referendum [for sole candidate pairs] have only just been decided," said Novanto at Nusantara II Building in Jakarta on Wednesday, September 30, 2015.
Novanto wants DPR to immediately work with KPU in order to ensure that both institutions are on the same page on the matter of MK's ruling, before adding that he has contacted Commission II Chairman, Rambe Kamarul Zaman, to begin working on the matter as soon as possible.
"We want everyone to understand the terms of the ruling, so everyone could expect a coherent outcome in the upcoming regional elections," said Novanto.
Meanwhile, DPR's Deputy Speaker, Fahri Hamzah, have also spoken out on the issue of the ruling - stating that the decision is the most practical manner of ensuring that the regional elections could be done in time, as it legitimizes sole candidate pairs to compete in the elections.
"As long as a revision to the Election Law, this is the easiest way of ensuring the legitimacy of the elections," said Hamzah in Jakarta on Wednesday, before adding that the referendum allows sole candidate pairs to ask for their electoral constituents consent.
"If there is consent, then their participation in the election is justified," said Hamzah. "The lack of competitors in the election is a sign of weakness - it could mean that the contender is too electorally popular, that they scare off the competition."
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