Reviewing Political Agenda
After the 2019 election, it is necessary to evaluate whether it is good for us to stick to unified legislative and presidential elections
Didie SW
As a nation, we have agreed the consensus as stated in the 1945 Constitution Article 6A Paragraph 1 that the president and vice president are elected in one package directly by the people.
Article 7 states that the president and the vice president hold office for five years, and thereafter can be re-elected for only another five-year term.
Regarding elections, Article 22E Paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution reads that general elections are held to elect members of the House of Representatives (DPR), Regional Representative Council (DPD), president and vice president and Regional Legislative Council (DPRD). This article is interpreted by the Constitutional Court (MK) such that legislative and presidential elections must be held simultaneously.
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As a state, we implemented the MK’s constitutional provisions in 2019.We witnessed the tremendous tensions in the simultaneous legislative and presidential elections, which was less than ideal for the development of a healthy political and democratic system.
Such high social tensions resulted from the contestation situation of the presidential election and the impact of fierce competition among political parties in the legislative elections.
The ensuing intrigues and frictions were very worrying. It was commendable that Prabowo Subianto moved to melt the tensions during the 2019 presidential and legislative elections by deciding to become part of the Joko Widodo-Ma\'ruf Amin administration.
Many shortcomings were still found in the 2019 general election, which simultaneously elected the president and vice president, DPR and DPD members, as well as DPRD members of the provinces, regencies and municipalities.
This was because five ballot papers were used, which made voters less careful when marking them.
First, as much as 11.12 percent of votes in the 2019 election were invalid. This was because five ballot papers were used, which made voters less careful when marking them.
Second, the legislative elections (DPR, DPD, DPRD) received less attention during the campaign period because voters, as well as television and social media, were more focused on the presidential and vice-presidential elections.
Third, the manual counting at ballot stations (TPS) over five ballot boxes used in the 2019 elections contributed to the death of hundreds of poll volunteers.
Commissioner of the General Elections Commission (KPU) Arief Budiman talks with members of Commission II of the DPR RI while attending a hearing with Commission II of the DPR RI at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday (19/1/2021). In addition to discussing the evaluation of the implementation of the 2020 Simultaneous Pilkada, the meeting also discussed the issue of the dismissal of Arief Budiman as a KPU by the DKPP.
General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Arief Budiman revealed that 894 people had died in the 2019 election and 5,175 had fallen sick.
In a national survey by Indikator released in early August 2021, 67.4 percent of respondents believed that, despite its imperfections, the democratic political system was still the best system, with executive heads (regent-deputy regent, mayor-deputy mayor, governor-deputy governor, president-vice president) and legislative members (DPR, DPD, provincial DPRD, regency/municipal DPRD) being directly elected by the people.
It is left to the political elite to carry out the will of the people to build a stable democratic state because political parties play a central role in the nomination of executive and legislative officials at all levels.
Legislative and presidential elections are the peak of the national political agenda every five years. Legislative elections have been held in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019, while there have been presidential elections in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019.
The 2004 legislative elections that chose members of the DPR, DPD, provincial DPRD and regency/municipal DPRD took place on 5 April that year, apart from the presidential elections which were held three months later, with the first round on 5 July, and the second round on 20 September.
The 2014 polls saw the legislative elections on 9 April and the presidential election on 9 July (one round).
In 2009, the legislative elections were held on 9 April, three months apart from the presidential elections on 8 July (one round). The 2014 polls saw the legislative elections on 9 April and the presidential election on 9 July (one round).
The concurrent legislative and presidential elections were introduced in 2019 as the implementation of the MK\'s decision No. 14/PUU-XI/2013 dated 23 January 2014, which was then strengthened by the MK\'s decision No. 55/PUU-XVII/2019 dated 26 February 2020.
Many suspected that the decision had been driven by the interest that all parties were allowed presidential nomination without a presidential threshold. The panel of judges of the MK emphasized that the simultaneous presidential and legislative elections aimed to strengthen the Indonesian presidential governance system.
Very few unitary republics with a full presidential system hold legislative elections concurrently with presidential elections. Turkey only a few years ago transitioned from a semi-presidential to a full presidential system through a tough referendum.
Elections evaluation
After the 2019 election, it is necessary to evaluate whether it is good for us to stick to unified legislative and presidential elections. Without disrespect to the views of the judges of the MK, the discourse over separated legislative and presidential elections does not need to be hastily shunned, given the following points of consideration.
Officers serve visitors who will consult regarding the 2019 Legistrain General Election Results Dispute (PHPU) case at the Jakarta Constitutional Court (MK), Tuesday (2/7/2019).
Political parties have increasingly become strategic institutions in our country. They are tasked with channeling people\'s aspirations, conducting education, facilitating the birth of new ideas for the development of the nation, state and community in all fields. They articulate public ideas and aspirations into state administration and promote state policies.
Political parties also have a crucial and noble task to offer the Indonesian people the best citizens to occupy political leadership positions for the president-vice president, ministers, members of the DPR, governor/deputy governor, regent/deputy regent, mayor/deputy mayor, members of the provincial/regency/municipal DPRD and other political positions by virtue of public aspirations through the DPR.
Having been a member of a political party for a long time, involved in every presidential and legislative election, a member of the Cabinet and DPR, and also involved in many regional elections, I am fully aware of the business of the political parties that constantly follow the agenda of state politics.
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It is not an easy task for a political party to choose a figure who has integrity, morals, high ethics and a conscience of siding with the interests of the community, nation and state -- compared to short-term interests for social groups and political cliques – competence, and far-reaching vision as candidates for political and institutional positions at all levels.
The five-year political cycle should be able to produce the best leadership, primus inter pares, because the people choose the best among good candidates in the legislative, presidential and regional elections.
The DPR has decided that the next legislative and presidential elections be held in February 2024. After the president is elected and inaugurated in October, there will be regional elections in 241 provinces, regencies and municipalities in November. Afterwards, the simultaneous elections for other regional elections will be decided.
I really cannot imagine the escalating political hype faced by political parties for the 2024 political agenda, for which they are to choose the best candidates. It will definitely drain the socioeconomic energy of the community. The quality of elections organization is at stake with the people having to elect four figures for the legislature as well as a president and vice president pair.
Another aspect is the provisions of the presidential threshold. The 2004, 2009 and 2014 presidential elections determined it based on the total number of DPR seats and valid votes from the national elections held a few months earlier.
In the 2004 presidential election, the presidential threshold was 15 percent of the total seats in the DPR or 20 percent of the national valid vote in the election for members of the DPR.
In the 2009 and 2014 presidential elections, the presidential threshold was 20 percent of the seats in the DPR or 25 percent of the national valid vote in the legislative elections.
However, for the 2019 presidential election, the provisions were different because the presidential election was held simultaneously with the legislative elections. The presidential threshold used the benchmark from the elections five years earlier (2014).
A billboard regarding the 2021 continuous updating of voter data is installed in front of the KPU Office for South Tangerang City, South Tangerang, Monday (12/7/2021).
This same benchmark will be adopted for the following five-year cycle with the 2024 presidential election using the number of DPR seats and national valid votes in the 2019 DPR member election as the presidential threshold.
Is it relevant to use the results of the previous five years\' legislative elections as the presidential threshold because the political dynamics are so high and the real situation in the field can change greatly?
Given this, the Constitutional Court\'s argument regarding the pursued strengthened presidential system has a weakness because the presidential threshold will be invalid. It will not reflect the actual political reality. Is it relevant to use the results of the previous five years\' legislative elections as the presidential threshold because the political dynamics are so high and the real situation in the field can change greatly?
In this context, the results of the previous legislative elections can also be influenced by what political theory refers to as the coattail effect of a popular presidential candidate.
It should be remembered that the presidential threshold, among other things, aims to restrict the number of candidates running for president and vice president under consideration that it is easier for the people to vote, apart from that it saves costs and allows synergy between political forces with their various aspirations.
Having the highest position in constitutional review, the Constitutional Court, together with other high state institutions, especially the MPR, needs to perfect our democratic political agenda.
We have experience in building a political system with a more orderly schedule and sufficient space provided for all parties to carry out their duties and institutional roles without too noisy political dynamics.
During the New Order era, elections took place every five years since the first general election in 1971, namely in the years with the ending numeric of 2 and 7, i.e. 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997 to elect legislative members.
And after the legislative institutions were formed, the DPR and MPR drafted the state guidelines (GBHN), after which the MPR conducted the presidential election and the new government was formed as in the years having the ending numeric of 3 and 8 -- 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, and 1998. With all of its shortcomings, the political five-year cycle during the New Order took place in a calmer atmosphere.
Rearrange political agenda
In the future, we need to arrange a national political agenda with legislative elections every five years as has been going on, namely in the years with ending numeric of 4 and 9, namely 2024, 2029, 2034, 2039, and so on.
Meanwhile, the presidential election should be held a few months later in the year with the ending numeric of 5 and 0, namely in 2025, 2030, 2035, 2040, and so on, using the presidential threshold of the previous legislative election.
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Security officers, regional heads, election organizers, and religious leaders, as well as community leaders rejoice after the 2019 presidential election in Kupang.
To realize this, in the context of the discourse on the fifth amendment to the 1945 Constitution, it can be carried out in the MPR as outlined in the additional article on realizing the above plan, without changing the terms of office of the president and vice president.
MPR members need to approve the appointment of President Jokowi and Vice President Ma\'ruf Amin as acting president and vice president for several months between October 2024 until the inauguration of the new president in 2025.
The total 575 provinces/regencies/municipalities constitute 48 regional elections every month, which will definitely drain the energy of political parties and potentially create political noise.
Indonesia consists of 34 provinces and 541 regencies/municipalities led by governors-deputy governors, regents-deputy regents, mayors-deputy mayors who have been directly elected for five-year term of office. The total 575 provinces/regencies/municipalities constitute 48 regional elections every month, which will definitely drain the energy of political parties and potentially create political noise.
We are aware that legislative members, be they in the provinces, regencies or municipalities are assigned by their political parties to help push their candidates to the top position in regional administrations. With the elections held not simultaneously, we often see empty seats during DPR and DPRD sessions because legislators are on duty in the field to support their political party\'s candidates in an election campaign.
Therefore, we support the concept of simultaneous local elections with the hope that it will close the possibility of mass mobilization between regions for campaigning.
In my opinion, simultaneous local elections can be carried out in two rounds in the year with ending numeric of 2 and 7 as well as 3 and 8. In the years with 1 and 6, it is better not to have a direct election so that the President and DPR/DPD/DPRD can concentrate on their work programs.
siswono yudo husodo
The task of each generation is to hand over the state and its constitutional system to the next generation with better conditions. It is appropriate for us to rearrange our state political agenda.
Siswono Yudo Husodo, Chairman of the Foundation for Education and Trustees of Pancasila University
(This article was translated by Musthofid).
