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Concerns emerge over possible appointment of TNI, police leaders as acting regional heads
Critics are wary of the potential for an increased military and police presence in national politics, especially as military involvement in state affairs was a core element of former president Soeharto’s authoritarian New Order regime.
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A worker arranges ballot papers for the 2020 Makassar regional elections at the Celebes Convention Center in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Nov. 24, 2020. (Antara/Arnas Padda)
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oncerns have emerged that the government may appoint senior Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police leaders as acting regional heads to fill a number of local seats that will be vacated before the nationwide regional elections in 2024.
The terms of 271 regional leaders will expire before the 2024 elections, including those of the governors of Jakarta and Banten, which will end next year, and of the governors of West Java, East Java and Central Java, which will end in 2023.
The prevailing 2016 Regional Elections Law allows the government to appoint high-ranking state officials – for example, secretaries general, directors general and inspectors general – as acting governors until the regions in question elect definitive leaders through the 2024 polls.
Although TNI personnel and police officers are generally barred from holding civil positions, according to the 2014 Civil Servants Law, they can be appointed to certain high-ranking government positions after they have been discharged from duty. This makes them eligible to serve as acting governors.
Critics are wary of the potential for an increased military and police presence in national politics, especially as military involvement in state affairs was a core element of former president Soeharto’s authoritarian New Order regime.
Read also: Hundreds of regional leaders to be appointed by govt as House endorses 2024 polls
Political observer Adi Prayitno urged the government not to choose any military or police leaders to fill the 271 regional head positions to be vacated, as it would stray from the spirit of the Reform Era, which had been in part about separating civil power from military and police power.
