PDIP Legislator: We Remain Consistent in Advocating for Direct Regional Elections

Commission II of the House of Representatives (DPR) member Giri Ramanda Kiemas stated that the Constitutional Court’s ruling on case Number 195/PUU-XXIV/2026 serves as the final affirmation that the mechanism for organising regional head elections, or Pilkada, must be conducted directly. He said that with this ruling, lawmakers, both the DPR and the government, are expected to treat the Court’s decision as a direct aspiration of the people so they can directly elect their regional heads. “Regarding our stance, to this day PDIP remains consistent in advocating for Pilkada to be carried out directly by the public,” Giri said at the DPR, MPR, and DPD Complex on Thursday, 2 July 2026. He continued that the affirmation of the Pilkada mechanism, as stated by the Court in its ruling, is also expected to be a trigger for other parties to follow the will of the people or reject Pilkada being chosen by the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD). He understands that the implementation of direct Pilkada still has weaknesses. However, these weaknesses should not simply be evaluated by changing the election mechanism. Instead, he said, these weaknesses should be evaluated by improving regulatory strengthening and oversight so that future Pilkada implementation can take place honestly, fairly, and cleanly. “So, let us not change the system. Instead, let us strengthen the existing system,” said the PDIP politician. Regarding the high cost of direct Pilkada, which is considered one of the factors causing regional heads to become entangled in alleged corruption cases, according to Giri, this can be anticipated, one way being through efforts to provide political education to the public. He opined that the practice of money politics, which has been the cause of the high cost of Pilkada, can be suppressed if the public has been given comprehensive political education. “We can avoid money politics through education and strengthening electoral regulations,” he said. On Monday, 29 June, the Constitutional Court affirmed that the Pilkada mechanism remains to be carried out directly by the people as currently applies. In its ruling, the Court rejected the petition for judicial review of the phrase “directly and democratically” in Article 1 point 1 of Law Number 8 of 2015. Chief Justice Suhartoyo stated that his institution referred to a series of jurisprudence rulings affirming that Pilkada must be held directly by the people. The rulings rejecting the return of the Pilkada mechanism through the DPRD include case Number 072/PUU-II/2024 and 073/PUU-II/2004, case Number 69/PUU-XXII/2024, and the most recent Number 110/PUU-XXII/2025. “Based on the legal considerations of these rulings, the mechanism for electing regional heads is currently carried out directly by the people,” Suhartoyo said. Previously, the proposal to reintroduce Pilkada chosen by the DPRD, or indirectly, was submitted by the Golkar Party following a national leadership meeting on Saturday, 20 December. At that time, Golkar reasoned that the implementation of direct Pilkada had resulted in increasingly expensive political costs. Golkar’s proposal was subsequently followed by other political parties supporting the Prabowo administration. PKB and PAN, for example, assessed that the proposal did not violate the constitution and could prevent the high political costs for regional heads who would be contesting.