The House of Representatives has approved a new regulation on nomination requirements for the upcoming regional head elections that complies with a set of Constitutional Court rulings that legislators had previously sought to override.

In a consultation meeting on Sunday, the General Elections Commission (KPU) and lawmakers from House Commission II overseeing home affairs agreed on a revised version of the KPU election regulation that implemented a court-ordered lower nomination threshold and maintained the requirement that candidates be at least 30 years of age before their registration for the regional polls.

The meeting was initially scheduled for Monday, only a day before the three-day candidate registration window opens.

“Having the meeting on an earlier date gives more room for us to prepare the [registration] process," KPU chairman Mochammad Afifuddin said.

Last week, lawmakers allied with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his successor Prabowo Subianto rushed through legislation that sought to bypass two Constitutional Court rulings on nomination requirements for regional head elections in November.

The court’s rulings effectively precluded Jokowi’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep from running this year and took steps to ensure more competitive races in November’s regional elections.

The power struggle between the House and the court triggered a wave of protests in multiple major cities last week, denouncing what protesters described as a move to ensure the influence of Jokowi’s political dynasty and prevent opposition figures from running in the November race.

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