Constitution is Nation’s Social Contract

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

President Joko Widodo.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has asserted that he upholds the Constitution, which stipulates that the presidential term is a maximum of two five-year terms and the general elections is held every five years.

We appreciate the President's stance. The political temptation to extend President Jokowi's term or to postpone the general elections has come not only from political parties. People close to the President, such as Investment Minister/Investment Coordinating Board head Bahlil Lahadalia and Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut B. Pandjaitan, have repeatedly voiced a need to postpone the elections, arguing that this was part of being a democracy.

Most recently, a discourse on declaring Jokowi for three presidential terms after Lebaran emerged at the national congress of the Indonesian Association of Village Administrations (Apdesi), which was attended by a number of Cabinet ministers, including Luhut Pandjaitan. Apdesi general chairman Arifin Abdul Madjid and Apdesi secretary-general Muksalmina Apdesi later denied that the association supported the idea. They claimed certain people had used Apdesi’s name in a political maneuver intended to back the idea of President Jokowi staying on for three terms.

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We underline the statement of the President, who follows and honors the Constitution. The issue of postponing the elections, which will have the consequences of extending the presidential term, as well as the legislative terms of the House of Representatives (DPR) and Regional Representatives Council (DPD), only adds to the national commotion.

The nation is again divided between those who want to extend their terms in office and those who want to uphold the Constitution. It would be even better if President Jokowi reminded his aides to stop talking about or working towards postponing the elections.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

The atmosphere of the DPR Plenary Session in the context of submitting the 2020 Fiscal Year APBN Bill at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Friday (16/8/2019).

The Constitution is the nation's social contract. All elements of the nation must bow down to the Constitution and uphold it. The proposal to postpone the elections as put forward by the general chairman Muhaimin Iskandar of the National Awakening Party, general chairman Zulkifli Hasan of the National Mandate Party, and general chairman Airlangga Hartarto of the Golkar Party can indeed be construed as a democratic aspiration. However, this aspiration is clearly contrary to the Constitution. Article 22E of the 1945 Constitution clearly states that the elections are held in a direct, general, free, secret, honest and fair way every five years.

With an economy that has not fully recovered and a heavily drained budget to mitigate the pandemic, the budget must be recentralized in line with the constitutional rules, namely by holding the general elections every five years.

The state must be committed to honoring the Constitution, including by allocating a budget to hold the general elections on 14 Feb. 2024. With an economy that has not fully recovered and a heavily drained budget to mitigate the pandemic, the budget must be recentralized in line with the constitutional rules, namely by holding the general elections every five years.

Respecting and obeying the Constitution must be followed up by drafting a policy to ensure that the elections are held on 14 Feb. 2024. The presidential aides should not continue to raise discussions on postponing the elections, because this could affect President Jokowi. On at least one occasion, President

Jokowi emphasized his stance that the discourse on three presidential terms was akin to “mencari muka presiden“ (seeking praise from the President), slapping the President in the face, or even attempting to mislead the President.

(This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo)