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Mahfud warns delaying election could create legal mire
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(From left) Then-Constitutional Court justice Akil Mochtar, then-chief justice Mahfud MD and then-secretary general Janedri Gaffar hold a press conference in Jakarta on Dec. 10, 2010. (AFP/Romeo Gacad)
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD has said significant legal problems could arise from proposals to delay the 2024 general election as they could lead to a lengthy process of amending the country's founding Constitution, which would, in turn, impose hefty political, social and financial costs.
"So imagine this is Oct. 20 [2024] when the presidential term expires, but then we have a Supreme Court or district court [ruling] that the election is delayed, so we have to amend the Constitution because the People's Consultative Assembly [MPR] and the House of Representatives can't produce a new law to change the schedule for the election," said Mahfud, as quoted by Antara, during a visit to Manado, North Sulawesi, on Saturday.
He said that while the details of the election schedule were outlined in a specific law, the five-year interval for the general election should be based only on the country's founding Constitution, which clearly stipulates that general elections must take place every five years.
The senior minister warned that in a scenario where the election was delayed by court decree, a vacuum of power could occur on Oct. 21, 2024, if major political parties failed to convene for a special session of the MPR to amend the Constitution.
"What if the PDI-P doesn't show? And neither will the NasDem Party or the Democratic Party. There will be no quorum and no session will take place," Mahfud said.
On March 2, the Central Jakarta District Court made a surprise order to delay the election, which legal experts said it had no authority to make, adding fuel to a debate over whether President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo should be allowed to stay in power beyond the two-term limit set by the Constitution.
The case was brought by the little-known Prima Party, which was formed in 2021 and has no election history. It claimed in the suit that its application to register had been unfairly denied by election authorities.
