TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Governing Committee Deputy Speaker of the House (DPR) Luqman Hakim called on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to hand a formal warning to the Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia after pitching the idea of postponing the 2024 Presidential Election.

“Bahlil Lahadalia’s statement showed that he failed to understand our country’s Constitution,” Luqman wrote in a statement on January 10, 2022.

He advised Bahlil to read the 1945 Constitution (UUD) which oversees the President’s and Vice President’s rights to hold their positions for five years, elected by the country's citizens, and that a general election must be held every five years.

The PKB Party secretary-general deputy asserted the Constitution did not accommodate an extension of the President’s office term. He said that Bahlil’s argument, who mentioned economic reasons to postpone the election, was basically illogical.

“General elections in Indonesia have never been the cause of an economic crisis. That is certain!” said Luqman.

The DPR legislator warned that attempts to postpone the 2024 general election to disrupt the change of power were unconstitutional, undemocratic and against people’s sovereignty.

Reported earlier, investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia commented on the findings of a national survey on pandemic fatigue and electoral dynamics ahead of the 2024 general election conducted by pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia.

One of the issues in the survey was about extending Jokowi's tenure until 2027. Bahlil said it was in line with several discussions he had with business players.

“Some of them (entrepreneurs) think of the possibility to postpone the democratic process in the context of leadership transition. The reason is that they have been just facing the COVID-19 pandemic and are now rising slowly,” said Bahlil in a written statement on Sunday, January 9.

Read: Minister Bahlil Lahadalia Claims Businessmen Want 2024 Election Postponed

M ROSSENO AJI