Election Stages to Take 22 Months, Urgent Call for Immediate Discussion of Election Law Revision

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Executive Director of the Network for Democracy and Electoral Integrity (NETGRIT), Hadar Nafis Gumay, has called for the immediate discussion of revisions to Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections (Pemilu) this year. The reason is that the stages of the 2029 Pemilu are estimated to take 22 months, or nearly two years, and require a new Election Law to regulate their conduct. “Therefore, we must finalise that law this year as well,” Hadar stated during an online Public Forum event on Monday (4/5/2026). If this happens, the quality of the next Pemilu is feared to decline because the revision does not address substantive improvements to the electoral system. “If our DPR takes the position of not rushing, just later, end of the year, next year it will be done, well, that’s it. So, we will have a makeshift law and ultimately the quality of our elections can be imagined not to move upwards as it should be our right,” Hadar said. “If we are serious about making elections that are not complicated, not messy, not expensive or efficient, and clean elections with minimal or no fraud, then start with a solid election law,” Hadar explained. To date, the process of the Pemilu Bill has not progressed to the formal discussion stage. Several factors are cited as causes, from the unreadiness of the draft, legislators’ caution, to political interest tug-of-war. Deputy Speaker of the DPR, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, has asked all parties to be patient so that the discussion is not done in a hasty manner. “This time, please, let’s all be patient. We want to make an Election Law that is truly, well, not perfect but close to perfect,” Dasco said on Tuesday (21/4/2026). In addition, Dasco assessed that there is no urgent urgency to accelerate the discussion because the election stages can still proceed with the existing rules. “Those stages have no connection with the Election Law. With the old Election Law, those stages can still run,” Dasco stated.