House Commission II Respects Constitutional Court Ruling on Direct Regional Elections

The House of Representatives’ Commission II has declared its respect for the Constitutional Court’s ruling that regional head elections are to be conducted directly by the people. Bahtra Banong, Deputy Chairman of Commission II, stated that while the commission honours the court’s decision, its immediate priority is the revision of the General Elections Law, as the Regional Elections Law is not yet included in the 2026 National Legislation Programme. “We want to convey that we respect and appreciate the Constitutional Court’s decision, but our current focus in the DPR, as per the 2026 Prolegnas, is the deliberation of the Election Bill,” he said at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday. He added that discussions on revising the Regional Elections Law would commence only after the Election Bill revision is completed. Regarding the Election Bill revision, Bahtra noted that Commission II has begun opening public participation, inviting figures, academics, and election activists to gather input. “Going forward, Commission II will likely be proactive in visiting political parties, especially non-parliamentary ones, so we can accommodate the views of all parties,” he said. The commission is committed to ensuring the resulting amendments improve the quality of democracy in the future. The relevant article stipulates that regional head elections are an exercise of popular sovereignty to elect governors, deputy governors, regents, deputy regents, mayors, and deputy mayors directly and democratically. The Constitutional Court was responding to a petition from four students who questioned the phrase ‘directly’ in the article, arguing it was open to multiple interpretations without a binding norm that it must mean ‘by the people’ through voting. In its considerations, the Court found no actual or potential constitutional harm as claimed by the petitioners. It stated that the petitioners’ concerns about possible future legal changes, political discourse, and academic unease were not a direct consequence of the current law’s validity, as regional elections are still conducted directly by the people. “The mechanism for electing regional heads is currently carried out directly by the people, guided by generally applicable electoral principles, while still recognising and respecting special or autonomous regional government units,” the Court’s consideration stated.