T

he Indonesian Military (TNI) has once again expressed its hope to regain the right to vote in elections, saying that all regulations related to the military’s political rights should be evaluated by 2024.

Speaking to members of the House of Representatives’ special committee on the election bill on Tuesday, TNI chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said the military should get their voting rights after 2024 as the country would hold regional, legislative and presidential elections that year.

“There will be three elections at the same time in 2024. It’s a crucial year. It will need more attention. So 2024 will be the right time to evaluate [the regulations on TNI’s voting rights],” Gatot said.

Gatot made the statement after being asked by the lawmakers if the military, whose presence in civilian spheres has been felt more in recent years, was ready to get their voting rights back.

Former president Soeharto barred military members from voting after the 1955 legislative elections to maintain the force’s strong support for the government. Under Soeharto, who was also an Army general, the military was given up to 20 percent of House seats.

The TNI currently has around 600,000 members. While the number is insignificant compared to the total number of voters in the country, the proposal to grant the military voting rights has sparked controversy over fears that the military would fail to maintain its neutrality in politics, particularly during elections.

Several members of the military have also refused to be granted such a right as they feared it would ruin the military’s solidity.

Debate on whether military personnel should be given back their voting rights, however, usually occurs ahead of elections, in which many former military members vie for legislative and presidential posts. Before the general elections in 2004 and 2009, the issue was also discussed.

Currently, there are three legal bases regulating political rights of the military: Article 5 on People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Resolution No. VII/MPR/2000 on the separation of the Indonesian Military and the National Police, Law. No. 34/2004 on the TNI and Law No. 15/2011 on general elections management.

NasDem Party lawmaker Supiadin Aries Saputra of the House’s Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs said the idea still needed to be discussed because the TNI was prone to being abused by the government for certain political interests.

It is unclear if the TNI is ready to be neutral, because the military moves and acts based on orders from their superiors, Supiadin said, adding that the public might also not be ready to accept it.

“Our country has yet to be well-developed. We should consider how dangerous the New Order regime was, when the TNI was used by the government as a tool,” Supiadin said.

“Moreover, in 2024 we will have simultaneous elections, where power is going to be fragmented. If the TNI can regain its voting rights, it could bring us back to the New Order era,” said the retired military officer.

Meanwhile, National Awakening Party (PKB) lawmaker Lukman Edy said the idea deserved consideration because the TNI nowadays is more mature than in the past.

He even recommended that the evaluation take place in 2019, so that the TNI can have voting rights in the 2024 elections.

“It can be a form of appreciation for our military force and will be a part of progressive democratic consolidation,” Lukman said.

“So if they are ready to be neutral, why don’t we evaluate [the regulations] in 2019, so that they can [vote] in 2024?”