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Jokowi wants to maintain direct elections for Jakarta governor
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Jokowi said the best way to elect the Jakarta governor was through direct election.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo gives a speech during the Bank Indonesia Annual Meeting held in the central bank's Jakarta headquarters on Nov. 30, 2023. (Youtube/Bank Indonesia/-)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has rejected a proposal from the House of Representatives to strip voters in Jakarta of their right to directly elect the city's governors in future elections.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Jokowi said the best way to elect the Jakarta governor was through direct election.
"If it's up to me then I definitely prefer direct election by the people," Jokowi told reporters during a site visit to a flood-prevention facility in Ancol, North Jakarta.
Jokowi, however, said that the proposal to drop direct gubernatorial elections came from the House and that he had not received any details regarding the plan.
"The proposal has not reached my desk, so just let the process flow," Jokowi said.
The House is seeking to provide a legal framework for Jakarta's position when it loses its capital status next year and is currently proposing that no direct election be required to elect the city's governor in the future.
During a House plenary session on Dec. 8, eight of the nine political parties represented in the legislature agreed to endorse the bill as a House initiative, with only the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) in opposition.
More political factions, however, have since expressed reservations about the plan.
