The House of Representatives (DPR) postponed the plenary session to ratify the draft revision to Law No. 10/2016 on Regional Elections Law (RUU Pilkada) due to the lack of a quorum among its leadership, amidst widespread public protests.
“As a result, we will reschedule the plenary session as the quorum has not been met,” DPR Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said on Thursday, August 22, 2024.
Previously, the House’s Legislative Body (Baleg) had agreed to bring the RUU Pilkada to the plenary session on Thursday.
The draft law was approved by eight out of nine factions within the DPR, with only the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) opposing the revision.
The RUU Pilkada was discussed and drafted in less than seven hours. This revision came just one day after the Constitutional Court (MK) issued a ruling (No. 60/PUU-XXII/2024) that altered the candidacy requirements for regional elections. However, the House did not fully accommodate the MK’s decision in the revised law.
The attempted ratification of the RUU Pilkada has sparked significant public outcry, leading to widespread protests across various cities in Indonesia.
A large-scale demonstration took place in front of the parliament complex in Jakarta, where protesters voiced their opposition to the revised law.
Police forces were deployed to secure the parliamentary complex as protests intensified, with the main agenda being the rejection of the RUU Pilkada’s ratification.
The protest is part of a broader movement dubbed “Indonesia’s Emergency Alert,” which gained traction on social media after the House’s controversial move to disregard the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
