Polemic Over Acting Regional Heads
Discourse has been raised over the amendment to the Regional Elections Law, given the concern that acting regional heads will be in office for too long, between two and three years.
Didie SW
In the discussion over Law No. 10/2016 on regional elections, the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) have agreed that no regional elections will be held in 2022 or 2023.
The next regional elections are to take place in November 2024 as stipulated in Article 201 of Law No. 10/2016. The decision to not hold the regional elections in 2022 or 2023 leaves the government with the huge task of appointing acting heads for 272 provinces, regencies and municipalities that will have vacancies in their top posts.
The decision to not hold the regional elections in 2022 and 2023 has turned into a polemic in the national legislature. Discourse over the amendment to Law No. 10/2016 has emerged along with Constitutional Court Decision No. 55/PUU-XVII/2019, which states that holding the regional elections simultaneously with the legislative and presidential elections is constitutional.
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Discourse has been raised over the amendment to the Regional Elections Law, given the concern that acting regional heads will be in office for too long, between two and three years.
It is feared that caretaker heads serving a prolonged time in office will have a negative impact on regional governance, especially in light of the political hype leading up to 2024, when Indonesia will simultaneously hold the general and regional elections.
Caretaker appointment
Acting heads are appointed to governorships, which are to be occupied by middle-ranking senior officials [madya], with high-ranking senior officials [pratama] to fill regental/mayoral posts in accordance with the provisions of the law.
Article 201 of Law No. 10/2016 is too “shallow” in regulating the procedures and mechanisms for filling vacancies in the posts of governor, regent and mayor. The other provisions in the law only state that the acting governor, regent, and mayor each have a one-year term that may be extended for an additional year, or the acting head may replaced by another appointee for a one-year term.
There is no detailed description on how the positions may be filled, its mechanism, whether the acting governor, regent and mayor have an authority that is similar in scope to that of elected heads, and whether the appointed madya or pratama are to come from a solely civilian background or may also come from the military and the police.
Academic discourse will evolve over the anticipated potentials and opportunities that stem from the central government’s "prerogative" over its narrow political interpretation of appointing acting regional heads.
Regulatory loopholes will always lead to academic discourse on the one hand and political acrimony on the other. Academic discourse will evolve over the anticipated potentials and opportunities that stem from the central government’s "prerogative" over its narrow political interpretation of appointing acting regional heads.
The procedure for appointing the caretaker heads, in which the President chooses among the three nominees for the governorship submitted by the Home Ministry, should not be the only option.
Central Sulawesi Governor Rusdy Mastura (left) and Central Sulawesi Deputy Governor Ma\'mun Amir after being inaugurated by President Joko Widodo for the 2021-2024 term at the State Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday (16/6/2021).
There needs to be other options that are more democratic as a logical consequence, since regional heads are public officials that are directly elected by the people.
Given the term of office of acting heads, which is almost half the term of elected heads, acting heads should ideally be appointed through democratic mechanisms and methods, despite their interim status.
This means that the mechanism for appointing acting regional heads should not be interpreted merely as the central government’s unilateral authority without involving regional administrations. Indonesia adheres to the principles of democracy and decentralization in its governance system.
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This spirit is reflected in Article 18, Paragraph 4 of the 1945 Constitution, which states that governors, regents, and mayors are elected democratically as the heads of provincial, regency and municipal administrations.
The term “democratic” must also apply in appointing an official to these same positions. This deserves further consideration, given that no other provisions exists that further outlines the mandate in Article 201 of Law No. 10/2016.
What if an election becomes the default? Is there any alternative to a democratic mechanism?
“Democratic”, according to the Constitution, entails involving the people\'s sovereignty in the democratic system we have adopted. What if an election becomes the default? Is there any alternative to a democratic mechanism? There are three options for the government to choose from.
One, an acting governor, regent or mayor can still be nominated democratically, but in a limited manner. This alternative is based on the fact that the 2019 general elections produced the people\'s representative in the regional legislatures (DPRDs).
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Supriyanto
Democratic representation can be an alternative as a substitute to a direct election, in which regional legislators shortlist the candidates for acting governor, which is then submitted to the President by the Home Minister. For acting regents and mayors, local legislators shortlist the candidates and then submit the list to the Home Minister.
Two, the central government, in this case the Home Ministry, and regional legislators form an ad hoc committee tasked with nominating prospective candidates as acting governors, regents and mayors. Forming an ad hoc committee is common when dealing with vacancies at ministries and state institutions, and this is not contrary to the Constitution.
In the case of acting regional heads, the remaining voting power belongs to the regional legislature.
Three is the rectorship electoral model, in which the central government has 30 percent of the voting power. In the case of acting regional heads, the remaining voting power belongs to the regional legislature. Prospective candidates are nominated by the central government through the Home Ministry and regional legislatures (provincial and regency/municipal DPRDs).
Screenshot of the photo on the Instagram account @ridwankamil regarding the informal meeting of the Governor of DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan (left), Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo (center), and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, in Jakarta, in 2018, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
These three options are far more compatible to the spirit of democracy as mandated in Article 18 of the 1945 Constitution.
They are also in line with Article 1, Paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution, which states that sovereignty is in the hands of the people and is upheld in accordance with the Constitution.
Their execution will certainly not be immune to political distortion and deviation, but the spirit of restoring constitutional governance is preserved.
This will prevent political turmoil and maintain the executive jurisdiction of the Joko Widodo-Ma\'ruf Amin administration while avoiding conflicts of interest and nepotistic political bias.
This procedure can be used as a guarantee in the case of a judicial review of presidential regulations, as well as speculation over the background of the acting head (civil or military/police), because the process is carried out in a transparent and accountable manner.
In this way, whoever becomes the acting regional head has passed the democratic and bureaucratic test. This procedure can be used as a guarantee in the case of a judicial review of presidential regulations, as well as speculation over the background of the acting head (civil or military/police), because the process is carried out in a transparent and accountable manner.
The process of replacing the acting heads can also be argued that it fulfills the constitutional mandate.
‘Limited’ authority
Apart from the procedure of appointing acting governors, regents and mayors, another important issue is the scope of their authority. Discourse has been raised over the need to limit their authority, as the potential terms of the acting heads are deemed to be too long.
Indeed, their authority is not as extensive as that of elected heads, as regulated in Law No. 23/2014, but it is necessary to define their authority in detail.
Anticipating the 2024 political year with two strategic political agendas, namely the general elections and the regional elections, the role and function of acting regional heads is to fulfill their primary duty to sustain development, so their “limited” authority should not fall into a gray area.
A clearly defined scope of authority not only encourages democratic, transparent, and accountable local governance, but also provides certainty about what an acting regional head can and cannot do.
Clearly defined authority, albeit limited in its scope, can prevent the politicization of bureaucracy and abuse of power in regional governance.
Moch. Nurhasim, Researcher at BRIN Political Research Center
(This article was translated by Musthofid).
