House Commission II Questions Proposal to Extend Village Head Terms
Muhammad Khozin, a member of Commission II of the DPR from the PKB Fraction, questioned the proposal to extend the term of office for village heads presented by the Association of Village Heads at the End of Term (AMJ) during a meeting with the Deputy Speaker of the DPR, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, on Wednesday (9/9).
Khozin believes that the proposal threatens the democratic climate at the village level. “A hallmark of democracy, among other things, is elected officials. Periodic village head elections are the essence of democracy at the village level,” Khozin stated when contacted on Friday (11/9).
The member of the DPR’s political and government commission assessed that extending the term of office for village heads lacks juridical, sociological, and philosophical foundations. He argued that fiscal issues cannot be used as a justification for extending terms without undergoing a direct village election process, especially since there is currently no state of force majeure that necessitates the cancellation or postponement of such elections.
“There is currently no force majeure. Fiscal issues cannot be used as a reason to delay village elections, let alone abolish them,” he said.
According to Khozin, extending the term of office for village heads without an election would only trigger instability at the village level. This is because periodic elections serve as the formal mechanism to accommodate the aspirations of the village community. “What would happen if this forum for absorbing aspirations were abolished or delayed? This could set a bad precedent for democratisation in Indonesia,” Khozin added.
A number of village heads belonging to the Coordinator of Village Heads at the End of Term (AMJ) previously met with the leadership of the DPR to demand the continuation of their terms as acting village heads on Wednesday (9/9). They are demanding to continue their terms as acting officials, even though their current terms have reached eight years, up from the original six years stipulated in the new Village Law.
They requested that local governments do not appoint acting village heads from the Civil Service (ASN), but rather from among themselves, to ensure efficiency and the continuity of government programmes. Furthermore, in their demands, they requested that village elections could be abolished for a certain period. Currently, there are a total of 36,000 village heads nationwide whose terms will expire between 2026 and 2029.
“By extending the term of office for village heads, the costs of organising village elections will be reduced, aligning with current budget efficiency,” said the General Chairman of the AMJ Village Heads, Jaro Muhadi, during the meeting.