TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said the right to investigate election fraud rests with the House of Representatives (DPR), not the government, but he hopes it will not culminate in the impeachment of President Joko Widodo or Jokowi.

“We hope it won't go that far (Jokowi's impeachment),” Ma'ruf said at the Daarul Archa Islamic Boarding School in Tangerang on Thursday, March 7.

He further expressed his desire for a smooth transition of government without any unrest. “I think that’s what we want: a peaceful situation,” said the former chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council from 2007 to 2014.

The call for a House inquiry into alleged irregularities in the general elections was first raised by a presidential candidate endorsed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), Ganjar Pranowo.

Ganjar's idea was welcomed by parties supporting a presidential candidate from the Coalition for Change, Anies Baswedan, namely the National Awakening Party (PKB), the NasDem Party, and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

Three House members from the PKS, PKB, and PDIP factions have submitted the proposal during the plenary session on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. However, several legal experts assessed that the legislative inquiry would not have an impact on the outcome of the 2024 elections.

Meanwhile, President Jokowi declined to comment further on the plan for the House inquiry into the alleged fraud in the 2024 general elections. “That’s the DPR responsibility, so please ask the DPR,” he said in a press statement at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, East Jakarta on Monday, March 4, 2024.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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