Perludem: Delay in Election Bill Proves Weak Commitment to Fixing Democracy

The discussion of the Election Bill (RUU Pemilu) can no longer be postponed if the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government are serious about improving the quality of Indonesian democracy. The Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) believes the slow progress on revising the Election Law demonstrates the weak commitment of political parties to address various problems that repeatedly emerged during the 2019 and 2024 elections. Perludem researcher Haykal stated that the DPR has yet to show seriousness in making the revision a legislative priority, despite the fact that issues found in the last two elections have been well documented and require regulatory changes as a solution. “This delay in discussing the Election Bill shows a very weak commitment from the political parties in the DPR to improve the system and the legal basis for implementing elections in Indonesia,” he told Media Indonesia on Wednesday (5/8). According to Haykal, evaluations of the 2019 and 2024 elections have provided a clear picture of various weaknesses in the electoral system. However, none of these problems can be resolved without revising the Election Law. “The problems that have been identified and inventoried as part of the evaluation of the 2024 and 2019 elections are becoming increasingly worrying because we know these issues can only be fixed through a revision of the Election Law,” he said. Haykal also assessed that the delay is not solely due to the DPR’s packed legislative agenda, but rather the strong political interests of the parties in parliament. He argued that any change to electoral rules will affect the strategies and electoral prospects of each party, creating a tendency to maintain the status quo. “We also see that in the current situation, the revision of the Election Law seems to be held hostage by the electoral interests of political parties in parliament, leading to a reluctance to change rules that have clearly resulted in problematic elections,” he stressed. Furthermore, Haykal warned that the longer the discussion is delayed, the narrower the space for public oversight of the regulatory drafting process becomes. He emphasised that the Election Law revision is one of the most crucial legal products as it will determine the quality of Indonesian democracy for the next five years. On this basis, Haykal urged the DPR and the government to immediately open the discussion of the Election Bill in a transparent manner, involving civil society, academics, election organisers, and election monitoring organisations. “The Election Bill should be opened to the public and passed immediately so that the problems that have arisen do not recur in the 2029 elections,” he said.