LSI Survey: Majority of Citizens Want Regional Heads to Continue Being Elected Directly

Results from a survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) show that the majority of citizens support the direct election of regional heads, including governors and regents/mayors, by the people through regional elections (Pilkada). The survey results indicate that the majority of respondents agree more with direct Pilkada compared to regional heads being elected by legislative bodies. The survey involved 2,020 respondents and was conducted from 4 to 12 March with a margin of error of approximately 2.2 per cent. “The majority (94.3%) state that governors should be elected directly by the people as is currently the case,” quoting the LSI survey results presentation on Sunday (12/4). Meanwhile, the number of respondents who state that governors should be elected by DPRD members is only around 4.6 per cent. Then, respondents who stated they do not know/no answer is at 1.1 per cent. Similar results are also seen in the poll on the election of regents/mayors. As many as 95 per cent of respondents state they prefer the election mechanism through direct Pilkada by the community. “The majority (95%) state that regents/mayors should be elected directly by the people as is currently the case,” reads the survey results on page 52. Meanwhile, respondents who prefer regents/mayors to be elected by the Regency/City DPRD are only 4.1 per cent, and those who stated they do not know/no answer are 0.9 per cent. The discourse on Pilkada through DPRD emerged at the beginning of 2026. The majority of parties in parliament have given signals of support for that discourse. Six out of eight factions in the DPR have expressed support, namely the Gerindra, Golkar, PKB, NasDem, PAN, and Democrat factions. Meanwhile, PKS wants Pilkada via DPRD to only apply at the regency level, while governors and mayors remain directly elected. In practice, only the PDIP Faction firmly stated rejection. That discourse has also drawn criticism. One of them is the Indonesian Centre for Law and Policy Studies, which assesses that the discourse would instead be a step back for democracy if successfully passed by the government and DPR. When the regional head election process is returned to the DPRD, they assess it as the same as abolishing direct Pilkada, “And the people no longer have the right to elect regional heads.” “It is increasingly embedding a step back for democracy by seriously bringing the discourse of regional head elections (Pilkada) by the Regional Representative Council (DPRD),” thus the press release from PSHK received on Wednesday (7/1). Separately, Commission II of the DPR states it has not set a schedule to discuss the discourse on amending the Pilkada Law so that Pilkada returns through the DPRD. Chairman of Commission II of the DPR, Rifqinizami Karsayuda, states that the proposal for Pilkada via DPRD is constitutionally regulated in Law Number 10 of 2016 on Pilkada. Meanwhile, the Pilkada Bill is not proposed to enter the 2026 Priority Prolegnas.