LSI Survey: Majority of Public Still Want Direct Presidential and Regional Head Elections

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) states that the majority of its respondents still wish to maintain the direct election system for regional head elections up to presidential elections.

This survey on the electoral system forms part of the “Evaluation and Public Commitment to Pancasila” survey, as presented by LSI Executive Director Djayadi Hanan in Cikini, Central Jakarta, on Sunday (12/4/2026).

LSI posed questions to respondents about preferences for the electoral system in representative democracy, namely whether elections are direct—including selections for the DPR, DPRD, regional heads, up to the president and vice president—or whether elections in representative deliberation mean that regional head and presidential elections are chosen by people’s representatives.

84.5 percent answered that the people directly elect their representatives, including DPR/DPRD, DPD, president, governor, regent, or mayor.

The remainder, 4.2 percent, stated they did not know or did not answer.

“The majority (84.5 percent) interpret ‘Popular Sovereignty Guided by the Wisdom of Representative Deliberation’ as the people directly electing their representatives, including DPR, DPRD, DPD, president, governor, regent, and mayor,” LSI stated in its survey presentation.

Respondents were asked whether the president should be directly elected by the people as it is now or elected by the MPR.

The response was that 94.4 percent of respondents stated the president is directly elected by the people as it is now.

As many as 4.7 percent of respondents preferred the president to be elected by the MPR. The remainder, namely 1.0 percent, did not know or did not answer.

94.3 percent want governors to be directly elected by the people

As many as 94.3 percent of respondents want governors to be directly elected by the people as it is now.

There are 4.6 percent of respondents who want governors to be elected by DPR members. The remainder, namely 1.1 percent of respondents, did not know or did not answer.