Siti Zuhro: Election Bill Must Be Discussed Immediately for a Quality 2029 Election

Senior Political Researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) Prof Siti Zuhro is urging that the Draft Law on General Elections be discussed as soon as possible to produce a quality 2029 General Election. “Although the legal framework is not everything, the package of political laws, such as the Election Bill, should have started being worked on in 2025 and its discussion climaxed in 2026,” she said whilst attending the University of Jember Alumni Family (KAUJE) Festival 2026 series in Jember Regency, East Java, on Saturday. Ideally, she continued, the Election Bill should be completed in 2026 so that there is sufficient time in 2027 to socialise the new Election Law, which is expected to serve as the legal foundation for creating a quality 2029 Election. “In my opinion, there is no sense of urgency. We are now in July 2026. The fact is there has been no serious discussion on revising the Election Law to date, even though it has been included in the National Legislation Programme,” said the University of Jember FISIP alumna. She explained that the stages for the 2029 Legislative Election will begin in 2027 and the formation of the election organiser selection committee should also be carried out this year. However, to date, the revision of Law Number 17 of 2017 on Elections has still not been seriously discussed. “The civil society coalition must pressure the DPR and the government to immediately conduct serious discussions on the Election Bill so that quality election results are created,” she said. “If these two matters are not prioritised, there will be no enforcement of justice and no quality democracy,” she stated. The revision of the Election Law is recorded as a priority bill in the 2025 National Legislation Programme (Prolegnas) proposed by the DPR RI Legislative Body and is now also a priority in the 2026 Prolegnas from the proposal of Commission II of the DPR RI. The Election Bill must fully accommodate all decisions of the Constitutional Court that have corrected or reconstructed the electoral rules for legislative elections, presidential elections, and regional head elections. Previously, DPR RI Speaker Puan Maharani confirmed that the Bill on Amendments to Law Number 7 of 2017 on Elections would be designed to prioritise honesty, justice, and not harm the people. Puan said that all political parties in the DPR RI have held discussions related to the bill, both formally and informally, including the general chairpersons of political parties who have also communicated with each other.