Jakarta Regional Council Proposes Increasing Seats to 180-220 During DPR Legislative Body Meeting
The Jakarta Provincial Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) has proposed an arrangement to increase its seats to between 180 and 220 during a meeting with the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) Legislative Body.
Speaking at the DPR RI Building in Jakarta on Friday, the Chairman of the Jakarta Regional Regulation Formation Body (Bapemperda), Abdul Aziz, stated that the workload of the Jakarta DPRD is heavier than that of other regions because there are no regency or municipal-level councils in Jakarta.
Under these conditions, the regional representation function is concentrated within the provincial DPRD, whereas the current total number of seats in the Jakarta DPRD is 106, maintaining a ratio of one seat for every 100,000 Jakarta residents.
“With a population of approximately 11 million people, our proposal to the members of the DPD Jakarta is to adjust the ratio to 1:50,000 or 1:60,000. Therefore, the number we are proposing is approximately 180 to 220 seats, up from the existing 106 seats,” said Aziz.
According to him, increasing the number of Jakarta DPRD members aims to improve proportionality and representational capacity.
He explained that Law Number 29 of 2007 concerning the Government of the Province of DKI Jakarta stipulates that the number of Jakarta DPRD members is at most 125 per cent of the maximum number based on population category.
Meanwhile, Law Number 151 of 2024, which amends Law Number 2 of 2024 concerning the Special Region of Jakarta (DKJ), stipulates that the number of DPRD members follows existing legislation.
On the other hand, the old law provided a legal rationale for additional seats as compensation for the absence of regency/municipal councils, whereas the new regulation does not explicitly state this.
He assessed that such a condition could potentially lead to institutional imbalance, as Jakarta still lacks regency/municipal councils, yet the formula for additional seats is no longer emphasised.
“The proposed amendment to Article 11, paragraph (3) of the DKJ Law is: ‘The members of the Jakarta Provincial Regional House of Representatives shall be at most 125 per cent of the number of DPRD seats based on the population category of the Special Region of Jakarta Province, as determined by the laws regarding general elections’,” he said.
During the session, he also proposed that the revision of the DKJ Law be included in the priority National Legislative Program (Prolegnas). This is considered essential to provide legal certainty for the General Elections Commission (KPU) and election participants.