DPR Respects Constitutional Court Ruling Upholding Direct Regional Elections

The House of Representatives (DPR) Commission II has affirmed that it respects the Constitutional Court (MK) ruling which reasserts that regional head elections must continue to be conducted directly by the people. Despite this, the DPR has confirmed that the ruling will not be immediately followed by a revision of the Regional Election Law, as the current legislative priority is the revision of the Election Law.

Deputy Chairman of Commission II, Bahtra Banong, stated that the MK’s decision is part of the constitution and must be respected by all state institutions. However, he noted that the commission’s current agenda is focused on deliberating the Election Bill, which has been included in the 2026 National Legislation Programme.

‘First and foremost, we want to convey that we respect and honour the decision made by the Constitutional Court. However, our current focus in the DPR, as per the 2026 Prolegnas, is the deliberation of the Election Bill,’ Bahtra said at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday.

The Gerindra Party politician stressed that the commission has not yet scheduled a discussion on the revision of the Regional Election Law. He explained that the assignment given by the DPR leadership to Commission II is currently limited to drafting the Election Bill.

‘So, our concentration, especially in Commission II as tasked by the DPR leadership, is on how to deliberate the Election Bill. We have not yet discussed the Regional Election Bill,’ he said.

Although it is not on the legislative agenda, Bahtra emphasised that the DPR respects the MK’s stance in maintaining the direct regional election mechanism as an exercise of popular sovereignty.

‘However, of course, we appreciate and respect what has been decided by the Constitutional Court,’ he said.

Bahtra assured that in drafting the Election Bill, Commission II will open the widest possible space for public participation so that the resulting regulation can address various electoral issues and strengthen the quality of democracy.

‘We in Commission II want to ensure that public participation is truly prioritised in the law-making process,’ Bahtra stated.

Furthermore, he said Commission II plans to gather aspirations from various groups, including political parties that have participated in elections and non-parliamentary parties. He noted that the lengthy deliberation period would be used to obtain as much input as possible before the Election Bill is finalised.

Previously, the MK, through Decision Number 195/PUU-XXIV/2026, affirmed that the mechanism for electing regional heads remains to be conducted directly by the people. The decision, read out at a ruling hearing on Monday, declared the petition to review Article 1 point 1 of Law Number 8 of 2015 on Regional Elections inadmissible.

In its legal considerations, the Court reiterated that the implementation of direct regional elections is part of the principle of popular sovereignty and must continue to adhere to democratic electoral principles as affirmed in several previous Court decisions. The ruling simultaneously ensures there will be no change to the mechanism for electing regional heads, meaning that regional heads will continue to be elected directly by the community through voting.