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House seeks speedy deliberation to establish new provinces in Papua
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Papuan students protest against the Indonesian government's plan to develop new administrative areas in the country's easternmost Papua province, in Malang, East Java on March 21, 2022. (AFP/Putri)
T
he House of Representatives is pushing to quickly pass a set of bills that will create new provinces in Papua, despite criticism that the government has been neglecting indigenous people’s voices in the bill’s deliberation process.
In a plenary session last week, lawmakers unanimously endorsed three bills that will stipulate the establishment of the provinces of South Papua, Central Papua and Papua Central Highlands.
The lawmakers’ endorsement, which was made before the House entered recess, means that the three bills are listed as a House initiative and will be open to be deliberated with the government in the next sitting session. If the bills are passed, they will redraw the administrative territory of the existing Papua and West Papua provinces.
Rifqinizamy Karsayuda, a member of House Commission II overseeing home affairs, said the House would speed up the bills’ deliberation process so that voters could elect the new provinces’ regional leaders and legislative representatives in the 2024 general elections
“We are trying to pass the bills into law before June,” Rifqinizamy, who is a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said on Sunday, as quoted by Antaranews.com.
He said that the creation of new provinces would entail an increase in electoral districts, as well as seats in the House, adding that the necessary adjustments should be made immediately so that the establishment of the new administrative regions would not disrupt preparations for the 2024 elections.
The push for the formation of new administrative regions in Papua has intensified after the House passed the second amendment of the Papuan Special Autonomy Law last year.
