Political Parties Start Anticipating Changes to Electoral Districts
The election organizers have been asked to remain independent so that the redrawing of the electoral districts will provide equal and fair representation for all political parties.
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Officers sort ballots for the 2020 Depok City Regional Head Election at the General Election Commission (KPU) Logistics Warehouse for Depok City, Cimanggis, Depok, West Java, Monday (23/11/2020).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Redrawing the electoral districts for the House of Representatives and Regional Legislative Councils (DPRDs) at the provincial level in line with the Constitutional Court’s ruling may have an impact on political parties’ strategies for the 2024 general election. Political parties are beginning to address the consequences, such as by rearranging their regional bases.
During these conditions, election organizers have been asked to remain independent so that the redrawing of the electoral districts will provide equal and fair representation for all political parties.
The Constitutional Court, in its ruling in the judicial review of Law No. 7/2017 on elections on Tuesday (20/12/2022), gave the General Elections Commission (KPU) the authority to determine the electoral districts of the House of Representatives and provincial DPRDs. Previously, the seat allocation and the map of electoral districts were regulated by the General Elections Law, so political parties had not considered any potential changes.
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Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, the chairman of the Gerindra Party’s election winning body (Bappilu) said on Wednesday (21/12) that although changes to the electoral districts had not been considered previously, the party was already drafting a strategy to accommodate possible shifts in the electoral districts of the House and provincial DPRDs. Previously, any changes to electoral districts were considered only in relation to the creation of new autonomous regions (DOB) in Papua and West Papua.
“Like it or not, we have to be ready if there are going to be changes to several electoral districts. We have to be [ready] to adapt to all changes,” he said.
According to Dasco, remapping the electoral districts was not an issue because political parties already had regional bases. Any changes to the electoral districts only called for realignment.
“We can’t say whether this is good [or] bad, advantageous or disadvantageous, because the changes to the electoral districts will be made based on discussions between House Commission II and the KPU,” said Dasco.
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Provincial General Election Commission (KPU) Coordination Meeting with the central KPU ahead of the 2024 Election at the General Election Commission (KPU) Building, Jakarta, Sunday (18/12/2022).
Democratic Party Bappilu chairman Andi Arief said the party had no objections to the ruling, which would also see changes in the political parties’ strategies and legislative candidates, as long as the electoral districts were redetermined in order to achieve fair and equal representation. The Democrats viewed that the change was necessary in several regions, such as Sumatra, Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan and Jakarta.
Andi did not deny that changing the electoral districts would not have an impact on the party’s potential legislative candidates, which had been decided long ago. Thus, he hoped that the KPU would continue to consult political parties in discussing the changes.
“We hope that, [after it is] given the authority, the KPU will continue to consult with political parties, because we have already prepared [our] legislative candidates,” he said.
Independent
KPU chairman Hasyim Asy’ari explained that there had been a request to hold a plenary meeting where academics could provide their feedback to finalize the Constitutional Court’s ruling. According to the plan, an overview of the composition and map of the electoral districts of the House and provincial DPRDs would be completed by the end of this month. These would form the basis for the KPU to hold limited focus group discussions with experts, stakeholders and political parties.
“It will also be used as material for drafting the [relevant] KPU regulation [PKPU], which will be discussed with lawmakers, namely the House and the government,” Hasyim added.
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Hurriyah, a senior researcher at the University of Indonesia’s Center for Political Studies, said that the Constitutional Court’s ruling that granted the KPU the authority to redraw the electoral districts could theoretically open the doors to fairer competition between political parties. Thus far, the process of determining electoral districts that involved political parties had led to an uneven battle.
The KPU was therefore asked to maintain its independence, so that the arrangement of electoral districts did not interfere with certain parties and prevented the reemergence of unfairness.
“One way for the KPU to maintain its independence is to open itself to public participation,” said Hurriyah.
This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia.
