UI's Puskapol: Delay in Revising Election Law is Elite Strategy

Researchers from the Centre for Political Studies (Puskapol) at the University of Indonesia (UI), Delia Wildianti, suspects that the delay in discussing the revision of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections (Election Law) is part of a political strategy by elites. This strategy is suspected to avoid electoral debates in the public sphere. “It is a strategy to maintain control in order to avoid debate in public,” she said during a press conference titled ‘Expedite the Discussion of the Revision of the Election Law’ at the STH Jentera Campus, East Jakarta, on Thursday, 9 April 2026.

According to her, political elites are worried that the issue of revising the Election Law will become a debate in the public sphere. She cited the experience when the issue of indirect regional elections emerged at the end of 2025. That issue was considered beneficial to political elites. However, the issue was then withdrawn when there was criticism and debate in the public sphere.

In addition, she sees the delay in discussing the revision of the Election Law as a way to avoid elite conflicts amid a regime that tends to be authoritarian. An authoritarian regime tends to prioritise stability. The regime avoids debates and divisions among political elites. “Parliament is dominated by the government coalition. There is one dominant voice from the regime. This becomes a sign of the political choice behind the delay in revising the Election Law,” she said.

She also sees an effort to stall until close to the 2029 election schedule. However, the closer the time, the more difficult it will be to make significant changes to the rules. “The reason must be ‘it’s close to the election, why change it now, there’s no long socialisation process and so on’,” she stated.

For her, this situation could be anticipated by carrying out revisions from the beginning of the government’s term. However, she sees a political strategy not to change several rules.

She also touched on the concept of manipulating the electoral process in this delay of revising the Election Law. She quoted the contents of the book ‘Electoral Malpractice’ by Sarah Birch. There are three manipulations of the electoral process: manipulation of the legal framework or election design, manipulation of voter choices, and manipulation of voter actions.

Puskapol UI identifies this delay as part of the manipulation of the electoral legal framework. Not to mention the proposal to issue a Government Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perpu). “A Perpu that only contains articles beneficial to a handful of elites is part of manipulating the electoral legal framework or institutional election design,” she said.

She also does not want the discussion process for revising the Election Law to only benefit a handful of political elites. She calls for the discussion of revising the Election Law to involve all parties. “Because the occurrence of manipulation of the electoral legal framework is usually marked by violations of inclusivity, impartiality, and transparency,” she said.

According to her, the revision of the Election Law must emphasise four principles. First, the constitutional principle. Because there are many Constitutional Court decisions that exist and are not accommodated in the Election Law. Therefore, it is time and appropriate for the revision of the Election Law to be carried out so that we do not violate the constitution,” she said.

The second principle is a level playing field for competition. Constitutional Court decisions emphasise the nomination threshold. Therefore, there needs to be a rule that does not favour elites. The third principle is representation. The last principle is accountability.

Puskapol UI is part of the Civil Society Coalition for the Codification of the Election Law. This coalition consists of the Indonesian Centre for Law and Policy Studies, Indonesian Women’s Coalition, ICW, SAFEnet, PPDI, Kawula17, Elsam, PUSAKO, Themis, NET GRIT, Migrant Care, and Remotivi.

The Civil Society Coalition for the Codification of the Election Law urges the DPR and President Prabowo Subianto to immediately start and prioritise the discussion of revising the Election Law. Researcher from the Indonesian Centre for Law and Policy Studies (PSHK), Muhammad Nur Ramadhan, said the coalition asks the DPR as the proposer of the Bill to immediately complete the academic paper and draft amendment to the Election Law.

“And publicise it so that stakeholders and the public can provide input on a clear reference,” he said in the coalition’s statement at the STH Jentera Campus, South Jakarta, on Thursday, 9 April 2026.

The coalition suspects there is intentionality from the DPR and the President to maintain the status quo of existing regulations. The coalition views this situation as reflecting the absence of seriousness in making substantive improvements to the democratic system.

In a hearing with Commission II of the DPR on Tuesday, 10 March, former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mohammad Mahfud Mahmodin proposed accelerating the revision of the Election Law considering the approaching election time.

He cited the experience of the 2024 Election. At that time, the General Elections Commission (KPU) had opened party registration in June or even earlier.

Another consideration why the revision of the Election Law must be completed at the latest two years before implementation or 2027 is because regulation preparation cannot be done suddenly. According to Mahfud, it has the potential to cause legal problems, including lawsuits in the Constitutional Court. “Indeed, the Regional Election Law and the Election Law must be revised and completed as soon as possible,” said the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court.

Meanwhile, DPR Speaker Puan Maharani said that all party factions in the DPR together with the government, both formally and informally, continue to discuss the revision of the Election Law to find the best formulation to be applied in the 2029 Election. “However, with the current geopolitical situation, we are not yet thinking about politics in 2029,” said Puan at the DPR, MPR, and DPR Complex on Thursday, 12 March 2026.

She said that the DPR and government are currently more focused on helping grassroots issues, including synergising to create regulations based on the interests of the people.