DPR Respects Constitutional Court's Affirmation of Direct Regional Elections by the People
Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission II, Bahtra Banong, has stated that the DPR respects the Constitutional Court’s (MK) affirmation that the mechanism for regional head elections is carried out directly by the people. However, Bahtra emphasised that Commission II will not yet discuss the revision of the Regional Election Law (UU Pilkada) as it is currently focused on deliberating the revision of the General Election Law (UU Pemilu). “We have not discussed the Pilkada Bill yet. However, we certainly respect and appreciate what has been decided by the Constitutional Court,” he said at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday, 1 July 2026.
According to Bahtra, the Constitutional Court’s ruling in case number 195, read out on Monday, 29 June 2026, affirmed that the people continue to hold sovereignty in local elections. Nevertheless, he repeatedly stated that the Pilkada Bill would not be discussed in the near future, considering it is not included in the 2026 National Legislation Programme (Prolegnas). “I think the discussion of the Pilkada Bill will be conducted after the Election Bill is completed, because what is in the Prolegnas and the assignment from the DPR leadership to Commission II is to finalise the Election Bill first,” said the Gerindra Party spokesperson.
The Constitutional Court affirmed that the mechanism for regional head elections remains directly by the people, as is currently practised. The Court made this affirmation during the ruling hearing for case number 195/PUU-XXIV/2026 on Monday, 29 June 2026. In its ruling, the Court rejected the judicial review petition against the phrase “directly and democratically” in Article 1 point 1 of Law Number 8 of 2015 concerning the Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors. Chief Justice Suhartoyo stated that the Court referred to a series of jurisprudence rulings which affirm that regional elections must be held directly by the people. Several rulings that rejected returning the regional election mechanism to the Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD) include case number 072/PUU-II/2024 and 073/PUU-II/2004, case number 69/PUU-XXII/2024, and the most recent, number 110/PUU-XXII/2025. “Based on the legal considerations of these rulings, the mechanism for electing regional heads to date is carried out directly by the people,” said Suhartoyo.
Suhartoyo explained that the Court could not accept the petition filed by four students because their actual or potential constitutional losses had not been proven. The four students are Vendy Setiawan, Lala Komalawati, Susi Lestari, and Afifah Nabila Fitri, who were concerned that the phrase “democratically” in the Regional Election Law could become a loophole to revive the mechanism of electing regional heads through the DPRD. “The mechanism for electing regional heads to date is carried out directly by the people, guided by the general principles of elections while still recognising and respecting special or privileged regional government units,” Suhartoyo stated. The petitioners filed the judicial review because they believed the phrase ‘directly and democratically’ in Article 1 point 1 of the Regional Election Law opened up room for multiple interpretations of the election mechanism. The petitioners’ concern was that the law could become the basis for changing the direct regional election system without amending the 1945 Constitution. The petitioners believed that the discourse of returning regional elections to the DPRD deviated from the principle of popular sovereignty and could harm their political rights. This judicial review petition emerged following the developing discourse of reviving regional elections by the DPRD, proposed by the Golkar Party and supported by several parties in President Prabowo Subianto’s governing coalition.