TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Home Affairs Ministry spokesman Doddy Riyatmadji said Jakarta could still hold direct regional elections despite the ratification of the regional election bill by the House on early Friday morning due to its special regulation, namely Law No.29/2007 about Jakarta Government.

“Jakarta still has direct elections because it has a special regulation,” he said on Friday.

Article 10 of Law No.29/2007 states that the Jakarta provincial government is led by one governor assisted by one deputy governor, who are directly elected through regional elections. The law only has one article that says Jakarta can still hold direct elections.

Doddy called the article a loophole. “If it’s only one article, the next thing is how to implement it,” he said.

Margarito Khamis, a constitutional law expert from Khairun University, Ternate, said the regional elections bill was inapplicable in Jakarta as the capital boasted special law. “As a special government, Jakarta can directly elect its governor because it has the constitution,” he said.

Regarding the implementation, he said that it was easy as the government only had to issue a government regulation.

Based on the House plenary session's vote tally, supporters of elections through DPRD, which are PAN, PP, Gerindra and PKS, won with 256 votes, while supporters of direct elections, which are PDIP, Hanura and PKB only secured 135 votes. As a result, the House passed the bill, meaning that regional elections would be carried out by councilors at the DPRD as opposed to the people.

ERWAN HERMAWAN