TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Law on local polls faces uncertain future
Staying true to its pledge to maintain direct elections, the Democratic Party maintains that it will stop measures taken by the opposition Red-and-White Coalition to drop the government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on the election of regional heads
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
S
taying true to its pledge to maintain direct elections, the Democratic Party maintains that it will stop measures taken by the opposition Red-and-White Coalition to drop the government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on the election of regional heads.
Members of the partyreiterated their stance following the Golkar Party's recent move to campaign against the Perppu.
During the party's national congress in Bali, Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie, who is seeking reelection, announced that the party would reject the Perppu; a move that could harm the prospect of the regulation being approved by the House of Representatives, as Golkar controls the most legislative seats in the coalition.
'I can support your [party members'] proposal to reject the Perppu,' Aburizal said before party members at Golkar's National Congress in Bali.
Members of the Red-and-White Coalition, including Golkar, had signed a pact to back the Dems' proposal to support the Perppu in exchange for the latter's support for joining the opposition coalition at the House and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
In October, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the Dems could finally join the Red-and-White Coalition after National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa personally assured him of the coalition's support for the Perppu.
'On the evening of Sept. 30, I met with Pak Hatta Rajasa, who conveyed the wishes and hopes of leaders of political parties within the KMP [Red-and-White Coalition],' Yudhoyono said through his Twitter account @SBYudhoyono.
'Even though the Democratic Party is not a member of the KMP, it wants to collaborate with us at the House and the MPR. I welcomed such a positive invitation on the condition that the KMP support the Perppu I issued,' he added.
Yudhoyono issued the Perppu to maintain the direct election of regional heads at the tail end of his second term following a public outcry after his party's lawmakers walked out during a House plenary meeting convened to vote on the Regional Elections (Pilkada) Law.
Now that members of the Red-and-White Coalition are reconsidering their options following Aburizal's statement, the Dems are stepping up their efforts to keep the Perppu.
Lawmaker Benny Kabur Harman of the Dems told reporters that: 'Our party will go all out to defend the Perppu.'
Dems' executive chairman Syarifuddin Hassan warned members of the Red-and-White Coalition about their moral obligation to honor the pledge that they had made to support the Perppu.
Separately, lawmaker Tjatur Sapto Edy, who leads the PAN faction at the House, said that the Red-and-White Coalition would hold talks with the Dems soon.
Tjatur, however, was noncommittal when asked if his party would support the Perppu.
'Nothing lasts forever in politics. The final decision on the matter will be made in January. In politics, final decisions will be made according to the mood prevailing in the period leading up to the deadline,' Tjatur said.
Other lawmakers from the Red-and-White Coalition have echoed Tjatur's sentiments.
Desmond Junaidi Mahesa of the Gerindra Party has hinted that his faction would follow in Golkar's footsteps. 'When making decisions, political parties depend on where the wind blows,' he said.
