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2024 polls hang in balance, again
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Ready for distribution: An official prepares ballot boxes at the Tanah Abang district branch of the General Elections Commission (KPU) in Jakarta in 2019. (The Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistyatama )
E
ven though the upcoming general elections have been scheduled for Feb. 14, 2024, it is no longer certain that Indonesians will be able to vote that year with the government and the House of Representatives dragging their feet on approving the budget for the polls proposed by the election organizers.
The legislative debate over the swelling budget for the elections have come on the heels of a controversial proposal from three ruling coalition parties — allegedly at the behest of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s inner circle — that the elections be postponed for a number of reasons, including higher election costs.
The proposal has revived speculation that many in the administration of President Jokowi, whose second term in office has been severely disrupted by an economically crippling pandemic, is seeking to extend his term by delaying the elections for a few years.
‘Swelling’ election cost
Until the final days of the last legislative sitting session last month, the House, which is dominated by pro-government parties, had yet to approve the budget proposals from the General Elections Commission (KPU), which was asked to look for ways to shorten the election stages – including the campaign periods – to cut costs.
The KPU had initially proposed Rp 86 trillion (US$6 billion) to fund the concurrent elections in 2024 — which is three times the budget for the 2019 presidential elections. The House and the government, however, refused to approve the budget, saying that the country was still struggling to revive the pandemic-stricken economy.
Read also: Critics decry Jokowi’s lackluster response to proposed term extension
