Jimly supports completion of electoral law revision this year: Next year will be too late
Jakarta – Constitutional law expert Jimly Asshiddiqie has backed the completion of the Electoral Law revision this year, arguing that the 2029 elections are approaching and delaying regulatory updates until 2027 would be problematic.
Jimly made the statement during a public hearing on election administration design and critical issues held by Commission II of the Indonesian Parliament in the parliamentary complex at Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday.
“I support this and hope it is done on time because this should be completed this year. If it’s delayed until next year, 2027 will already be too close to 2029. So, I urge everyone to take this seriously and finish it this year,” he said.
Speaking before legislators responsible for domestic governance and electoral affairs, Jimly also stressed that there should be no attempts to postpone the Electoral Law revision. He called for the revision process to be conducted openly.
“Delaying it is meant to hold back and avoid conflict. There’s no need for that. Let’s keep it open, including the idea of returning to regional head elections through regional legislatures, let the advantages and disadvantages be discussed openly. There’s no need to worry; eventually there will be compromise on what is best,” he said.
Regarding transparency in the legislative revision, Jimly described “debating ideas” as a positive aspect of democracy. According to him, major ideas concerning electoral matters must be discussed publicly.
“We should open this up and debate with major ideas. Policy consolidation is a serious matter,” he said.
He acknowledged that it is indeed time to conduct an evaluation and consolidation of electoral law and ethics systems, given Indonesia’s long journey of democratic reform over the past 25 years.
“Not just the law, but electoral ethics, and also to improve participation,” said the former Constitutional Court chief.
In the hearing, Commission II also invited other constitutional law experts, including Mahfud MD and Refly Harun.
Meanwhile, Commission II Chair Rifqinizamy Karsayuda stated that all stakeholders are interested in making the 2029 elections and subsequent elections better and more constitutional.
For this reason, Commission II invited constitutional law experts to discuss electoral improvements even though the working committee for the Electoral Law revision has not yet been established.
“We want to hear as many ideas and perspectives as possible. From these ideas, perspectives, and criticism, a problem inventory list will emerge. From that list, we will formulate normative proposals that will later become norms in the legislation,” he said.
Once the working committee is established, Rifqi noted that the problem inventory list from various stakeholders, including experts and civil society, would already be well-organised. According to him, this is part of efforts to create meaningful participation.
“Many have asked, ‘Why don’t you create the problem inventory first so experts can respond according to it?’ If we direct the experts, we could interfere with their intellectual freedom. For this reason, let the experts provide their thoughts and perspectives as freely as possible within the Commission II space,” he said.