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SBY to cancel regional elections law with presidential decree

Jakarta Globe - September 30, 2014

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Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Tuesday that he will soon issue a governmental regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) that would override the recently passed and hotly contested regional elections law, and bring back direct elections of local leaders.

"This is politics, I take the risk to issue this Perppu," Yudhoyono said, adding however that the regulation would have to be approved by the House of Representatives in its next session.

The presidential regulation – which in the hierarchy of Indonesian legislation holds the same status as a law – would remain valid at least until the House votes to cancel it.

Yudhoyono, chairman of the Democratic Party, was heavily criticized following the passage of the law in a marathon session at the House last week.

Opponents of direct local elections were able to pass the bill into law after almost all Democrats – the biggest faction in the house – decided to walk out. They later said they left the session after it became clear no other parties officially supported their list of ten improvements to the bill. Yudhoyono was abroad during the discussion of the bill.

Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/sby-cancel-regional-elections-law-presidential-decree/.