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House set to debate fate of decree to reinstate direct regional elections
Jakarta Globe - November 12, 2014
Ranbe Kamaruzaman, chair of House Commission II, which oversees home affairs, said legislators have no reason to endorse the presidential regulation in lieu of law, known in Indonesian political parlance as a Perppu, issued in the waning days of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency, saying no emergency existed to warrant its issuance.
Ranbe's statements present a somewhat puzzling premise, since Indonesian jurisprudence generally recognizes a presidential regulation issued in lieu of law as having the same force as statutes enacted by the House. There would appear to be no legal basis for nullification of a perppu except by executive order or passage of a bill by the legislature superseding the perppu.
"Yes, it's the president's right. But [a perppu] is enacted if there is an urgent need for it," the Golkar Party politician said.
Other legal experts have argued that Yudhoyono's perppu nullified the controversial law, but added that if the House does not enact the provisions contained in the president's regulation, an absence of law governing regional elections will exist.
Ranbe said the House has anticipated this by preparing a provision in the House that he said would allow the controversial law to be revived. "So there will not be any legal absence. What will take effect is the law passed by the House of Representatives," he said.
The General Elections Commission (KPU) has been pushing the House to immediately deliberate on the perppu's disposition, arguing that terms for 204 governors, district heads and mayors are slated to end next year.
KPU commissioner Sigit Pamungkas said his office needs the House to decide whether regional elections will be held next year. "We are optimistic that by the end of 2014 there will be a decision [by the House]," Sigit said.
Ranbe expressed confidence that no regional elections will be held next year, saying the House will likely reject the perppu. "If the KPU wants to prepare [for the 204 regional leaders' successions], do it according to the law [passed by the House]," he said.
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Agus Purnomo said the House law that eliminated regional elections was enacted by the votes of PKS lawmakers, along with those of Golkar and the Red-White Coalition (KMP), which controls 314 seats in the House.
"There is a good chance [the perppu] will be rejected. On paper the Red-White Coalition will triumph because from the start it was the Red-White Coalition that designed the law," Agus said.
But some House members are still trying to reconcile with the positions of the majority coalition with that of the minority Awesome Indonesia Coalition (KIH), which backs President Joko Widodo.
"There is a possibility that the decision [on the perppu] will not be made if the House remains [divided]," Agus said. By law, the House has six months to deliberate on whether to reject or endorse a perppu. A perppu automatically becomes law if the House fails to reach a decision.
The Red-White Coalition may split on whether to endorse the perppu. Yudhoyono chairs the Democratic Party, a Red-White Coalition member with 61 House seats. If the Democratic Party endorses the perppu that its chairman issued in office, the House vote tally favors its endorsement 307 to 253.
Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said the government has been in talks with House leaders stressing the importance of holding regional elections in maintaining a credible democracy in Indonesia.
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