Citing Conflict of Interest Risks, GPSP Urges President to Form Independent KPU-Bawaslu Selection Committee
JAKARTA – The Women’s Voice Empowerment Movement (GPSP) has urged the President to form an independent selection committee (timsel) for members of the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu). The move is considered important to prevent conflicts of interest and political intervention in the selection process for the 2029 election organisers.
GPSP Chairwoman Sri Budi Eko Wardani said the involvement of government elements in the selection committee could potentially open space for conflicts of interest, especially since the president is also a political actor. According to her, government elements should carry out an administrative facilitation function rather than dominate the selection process.
“Government elements in the selection for public office should be facilitative in nature,” Sri Budi said during a discussion in the Cikini area of Central Jakarta on Sunday (23/8/2026).
Sri explained that the government’s function could be focused on providing the selection committee secretariat, documentation officers, and meeting facilities and infrastructure. She therefore urged that government elements not be placed as chair of the selection committee to prevent the dominance of the president’s interests as both incumbent and participant in the 2029 elections.
“For example, government elements should not serve as chair of the selection committee to prevent the dominance of the president’s interests as incumbent and/or election participant,” she said.
She cited the conflict of interest problem that emerged during the formation of the KPU-Bawaslu selection committee in 2021. Instead of serving as facilitator, the appointed government element was made chair of the selection committee. Moreover, the person concerned also had political affiliations with those in power.
“This opens up conflicts of interest for the incumbent and actually undermines the principle of independence of the selection committee,” she said.
Sri assessed that the issue of independence needs to be addressed from the formation of the selection committee itself. This is because the committee will serve as the entry point for determining the quality of election management bodies.
Under Law Number 7 of 2017 on Elections, the selection committee consists of 11 people: three from government elements, four from academia, and four from the public. However, the criteria for appointing selection committee members, particularly from government elements, are considered to need clarification so that appointed members do not have political closeness or affiliations that could influence the independence of determining KPU-Bawaslu members.
Furthermore, GPSP also urged the government to announce selection committee candidates to the public before they are appointed. This step is necessary so that the public can provide input regarding the track records and potential conflicts of interest of candidates.
Sri also asked the government to strengthen women’s representation in the selection committee. She noted that women have never exceeded 30 percent of selection committee membership. In 2012 and 2016, there were only two women out of 11 members each time, while in 2021 there were three women.
According to her, the formation of the selection committee is the initial gateway to ensuring that election organisers have independence, integrity, and inclusiveness. Therefore, the process needs to be carried out transparently and involve public oversight from the outset.
Meanwhile, member of the Election Organiser Honour Council (DKPP), Ratna Dewi Pettalolo, assessed that the quality of the selection committee at the central level will influence the selection process for election organisers at the regional level. According to her, problems at the central level could give rise to similar issues when selections are carried out at the provincial, district/city, and even ad hoc organiser levels.
“Because if an error occurs at the beginning of the formation of the central-level selection committee, it will continue at the provincial, district/city, and even ad hoc levels,” said the former Bawaslu member for the 2017-2022 period.
Based on her experience at the DKPP, ethical problems among election organisers can begin during the selection process. This generally continues into the recruitment process in the regions.
She also compared this with her experience participating in the selection of Bawaslu member candidates in 2017. At that time, instead of being led by a government element, the selection committee was chaired by academic Saldi Isra. According to her, the selection process at that time was conducted openly and accountably.
In addition to independence, Ratna asked that DKPP ruling track records be one of the considerations in the selection of election organisers. According to her, candidates who have received ethical sanctions, especially severe sanctions related to integrity, need to receive attention in the selection process.
“When the selection process at the central level does not pay attention to that, then at the provincial, district/city levels, it will also happen,” she said.