Indonesia's MPR Chairman Urges General Elections Law Reform

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Chairman Bambang Soesatyo emphasized the need for improvements to the General Elections Law during the early phase of the next government’s administration, either in 2025 or 2026.

"The improvement to the law should be completed at the beginning of the next government period," he noted in a statement on Saturday.

He stressed the necessity of conducting these improvements to allow sufficient time for political parties, election organizers, and related agencies to prepare for the next election.

Several aspects need to be refined in the General Elections Law, based on the evaluation results and the Constitutional Court's ruling on the recent presidential election result dispute case, he pointed out.

Soesatyo elaborated that areas for improvement in the law include the electoral system, parliamentary thresholds, presidential and vice presidential candidacy thresholds, constituency seat allocation, and vote-to-seat conversion.

Additionally, the election law improvement process should consider simultaneous elections, digitalization, and high political costs.

He emphasized that the views expressed by President-elect Prabowo Subianto, saying that democracy in Indonesia is "noisy and tiring," and the sixth president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, stating that politics is "becoming more expensive," should serve as a reflection for holding the next election.

"These various views indicate the need for an evaluation to improve the electoral system, both in terms of regulations and technicalities," he emphasized.

Furthermore, he said, a study in 2017 by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) highlighted the state's need to provide funding support for political parties to meet their operational needs.

ANTARA

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