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MPR, Palace advisors mull scrapping direct regional polls
People’s Consultative Assembly Speaker Bambang Soesatyo has revealed plans to revisit indirect elections as part of a review of the country’s democratic system.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (foreground, second right), Vice President Ma'ruf Amin (foreground, right), People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Bambang Soesatyo (foreground, center) and House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani (right) make their exit after attending the annual joint session of the House and the Assembly at the Senayan legislative complex in Central Jakarta, on Aug. 14, 2020. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
T
he People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) and members of the Presidential Advisory Board (Wantimpres) have broached the idea of bringing back indirect regional elections, inciting fears that the country’s democracy would face yet another setback.
After a closed-door meeting at the Senayan legislative complex in Central Jakarta earlier this week, which brought together figures of the ruling coalition, Assembly Speaker Bambang Soesatyo of Golkar revealed plans to revisit the indirect election system as part of a review of the country’s democracy after the Reform era.
Bambang suggested that the current election system was prone to corruption, as evidenced in recent years by the many regional leaders who were convicted of graft, a major issue he insists would not be resolved by simply optimizing the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
He said the MPR and Wantimpres are in the midst of identifying the problems and would invite scholars and technocrats to study the pros and cons of direct regional elections, including the cost of political campaigning.
The result of the study would then be submitted to the House of Representatives for deliberation, the Golkar politician said.
“We will ask members of the House to review [the merits of direct regional elections]. Does the current system we are using have more advantages or disadvantages?” Bambang told reporters on Monday.
It was not the first time that the Assembly speaker has broached a topic that critics fear would be injurious to democracy. Previously, Bambang proposed a limited amendment to the 1945 Constitution, which drew suspicions that it was meant to facilitate the extension of current presidential term limits.
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