Coalition Urges DPR and President to Promptly Discuss Revision of Election Law
The Civil Society Coalition for the Codification of the Election Law urges the DPR and President Prabowo Subianto to immediately commence and prioritise discussions on revising Law Number 7 of 2017 on General Elections (Election Law). Researcher from the Centre for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK) Muhammad Nur Ramadhan stated that the coalition is requesting the DPR, as the proposer of the Bill, to promptly finalise the academic paper and draft amendments to the Election Law. “And to publish it so that stakeholders and the public can provide input on the clear reference,” he said in the coalition’s statement at the STH Jentera Campus in South Jakarta on Thursday, 9 April 2026.
Ramadhan said that the Election Law has yet to be addressed by the DPR alongside the President. This delay is considered an unjustifiable legislative stagnation. The urgency of updating electoral regulations has been repeatedly voiced in various post-2024 election evaluation forums.
According to Ramadhan, the delay indicates an institutional commitment deficit towards strengthening substantive electoral democracy. The delay also signals weak political will among lawmakers.
The coalition suspects intentional efforts by the DPR and the President to maintain the status quo of existing regulations. The coalition views this situation as reflecting a lack of seriousness in substantively reforming the democratic system.
“In this context, the delay is no longer neutral but potentially a political strategy to preserve a power configuration that benefits certain actors,” he said.
Ramadhan stated that the delay in discussing the Election Bill impacts the threat of authoritarianism. Non-democratic elections can become tools to strengthen authoritarian power rather than consolidating democracy. “Therefore, this legislative stagnation can be read as part of structural issues in Indonesia’s democratisation commitment,” he said.
The coalition notes that the poor quality of election administration cannot be separated from problems in the selection process design, from determining selection teams to the fit and proper test by the DPR. Poor selection processes directly impact the capacity, integrity, and independence of election organising bodies.
“In such conditions, maintaining the same regulatory framework without improvements will only increase the likelihood of repeating similar problems,” Ramadhan said.
In a hearing with Commission II of the DPR on Tuesday, 10 March, former Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security Mohammad Mahfud Mahmodin proposed accelerating the revision of the Election Law, considering the approaching election timeline.
He cited the experience of the 2024 Election. At that time, the General Elections Commission (KPU) opened party participant registrations in June or even earlier.
Another consideration for completing the revision of the Election Law at the latest two years before implementation or by 2027 is that regulation preparation cannot be done hastily. According to Mahfud, it could cause legal issues, including lawsuits in the Constitutional Court.
“Well, I think it’s true that the Regional Election Law and the Election Law must be revised and completed as soon as possible,” said the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court.
DPR Speaker Puan Maharani said that all party factions in the DPR, together with the government, both formally and informally, continue to discuss revisions to the Election Law to find the best formulation for implementation in the 2029 Election. “However, with the current geopolitical situation, we are not yet thinking about politics in 2029,” Puan said at the DPR, MPR, and DPR Complex on Thursday, 12 March 2026.
She said that the DPR and government are currently more focused on helping grassroots issues, including synergising to create regulations based on public interests.