Election Law Bill Stalled: Should the Government Take Over?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The stalled discussion of the Revision to the General Elections Law (RUU Pemilu) in the House of Representatives (DPR) has sparked discourse on whether the government should take over the initiative for its preparation. Even from the government’s side, signals of readiness have already been given, amid political interests’ tug-of-war and the formal discussion in parliament yet to commence. Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Services Yusril Ihza Mahendra stated that the government is open to becoming the proposer of the RUU Pemilu draft if the process in the DPR continues to stagnate. “If, for example, after one and a half or two and a half years it still hasn’t been completed, then there’s no harm in renegotiating who will submit the draft,” said Yusril, when met after attending a UN technical training event in East Jakarta on Wednesday (29/4/2026). Yusril admitted that he does not yet know the latest developments in the discussion of the bill in parliament. “I don’t know what the latest developments are, but the government is still waiting for the draft to be completed and prepared by the DPR,” he said. From the beginning, continued Yusril, the government and DPR had agreed that the revision of the General Elections Law is an initiative of the DPR. “Indeed, the agreement between the government and the DPR is that the discussion of the RUU Amendment to the General Elections Law is handed over to the DPR, and until now it has not been completed,” he stated. Yusril added that the government has so far only conducted an inventory of election issues. If the initiative remains with the DPR, the government will prepare a list of problem inventory (DIM) after the draft is finalised. Conversely, if it is taken over, the government must prepare the draft independently.