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View all search resultsThe People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has once again raised the idea of amending the Constitution, claiming that the nation must discuss procedures for delaying elections in a crisis and grant more power to the legislative body.
An Indo Barometer study showed that 89.4 percent of its 1,200 respondents were in favor of a direct presidential election, whereas only 4.1 percent of the respondents expressed support for an indirect election, which would effectively grant The People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) the sole authority to elect the country’s leaders.
Assembly leaders have said the constitutional amendment will simply reinstate the now-defunct State Policy Guidelines (GBHN), a legacy of former president Soeharto’s New Order regime. However, certain parties are pushing for a wider-ranging amendment.
The MPR has discussed with party and mass organization leaders the planned amendments. The most recent meeting was with NU on Wednesday, during which the organization suggested reviving the New Order-style political system, in which the president and vice president were elected by the MPR, not directly by the people.
Data suggests that the money spent by regional head candidates often far outstrips the income that they will receive once they take office. Home Minister Tito Karnavian and others have suggested that this could be remedied by scrapping direct regional elections.
Nearly 15 years after the first direct regional elections were held in Indonesia, the government and the country’s biggest political parties have signaled their intention to abolish direct public participation in electing local leaders, citing high costs that could lead to increased corruption.
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