DPR to Fast-Track Election Bill Talks Next Week as ‘Gibran Article’ Comes Under Scrutiny
The DPR’s Commission II is scheduled to begin discussions on the Election Bill early next week, even though MPs are currently in recess.
Commission II Deputy Chair Dede Yusuf said the meeting would also address the controversy over an alleged covert provision in General Elections Commission (KPU) Regulation No. 19/2023, which was said to have been deliberately prepared to clear the way for Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run in the 2024 presidential election.
“Perhaps next week we will try to hold a meeting during the recess. As a working committee, we will put the input [on evaluating the ‘Gibran Article’] on the committee’s agenda. It will not focus specifically on the KPU regulation, but on the bill,” Dede said when contacted on Monday (19/20).
Dede acknowledged that he had received proposals for the controversy over Article 18(3) of KPU Regulation No. 19/2023 to be discussed separately at a meeting. The commission has also scheduled invitations to both the KPU and the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu).
However, as the DPR is currently in recess, Commission II plans only to review documentation from the previous period’s discussions on the regulation.
“Under the schedule we have set, as Parliament is currently in recess, we will discuss only the data held by the commission, including its notes and recordings,” said Dede, a politician from the Democratic Party.
Article 18(3) of KPU Regulation No. 19/2023 states: “Proof of graduation as referred to in paragraph (1)(m) is not required for prospective presidential or vice-presidential candidates who do not have proof of graduating from senior secondary school at a foreign school overseas and who have proof of graduating from a university.”
The article has become controversial following a Constitutional Court ruling on Gibran’s educational qualifications for the 2024 presidential election. Doli, who chaired Commission II in the 2019–2024 period, and former KPU chair Hasyim Asy’ari have traded barbs over the issue.
Doli denied that the article had been discussed at any of the meetings between Commission II and the KPU at the time. He challenged the KPU to disclose what happened at the commission’s official meetings regarding allegations that the provision had been inserted covertly.
“If they really want to open it up, then let’s open it up. I am ready. We can show the public which part was not inserted covertly and which part was,” Doli said at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday (12/10).
Hasyim had previously criticised Doli’s claim that he had never discussed Article 18 with the KPU. Doli was Commission II chair at the time.
According to Hasyim, responsibility for Article 18(3) of KPU Regulation No. 19/2023 rested collectively with participants in the meetings. He urged the Election Organisers Ethics Council (DKPP), when examining the complaint over the article’s inclusion, to act fairly and proportionately, exercise caution and avoid conflicts of interest.
He also quoted a hadith of the Prophet, narrated by Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurairah, concerning hypocrites.
“For that reason, on this occasion I want to urge everyone: it is acceptable to forget, but not to be a hypocrite,” he said.