Changes to 2024 Presidential and Vice-Presidential nomination schedule announced by Indonesian Election Commission

INDONESIA – The Indonesian Election Commission (KPU) has unveiled a draft regulation, known as Regulation of the General Election Commission (PKPU), which includes amendments to the schedule for the nomination of presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the 2024 election.

This move has sparked discussions and debates among political figures and experts across the nation.

Hasyim Asy’ari, the Chairman of The Indonesia Election Commission.

According to KPU Chairman Hasyim Asy’ari, the changes in PKPU No. 3 of 2022 are primarily in response to the new provisions outlined in Law No. 7 of 2023 regarding the Amendment of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections.

These amendments pertain to the election campaign period and are closely tied to the official announcement of the final candidate lists (DCT) for various legislative positions.

As per Hasyim’s statement last Friday (8 Sep), the revised schedule will see the nomination period for presidential and vice-presidential candidates shifted from the initial dates of October 29 to November 25, 2023, to the new dates of October 10 to October 16, 2023.

The alteration is in line with the stipulation in Law No. 7 of 2023 that mandates a 25-day campaign period following the declaration of the DCT for the legislative positions and a 15-day campaign period following the announcement of presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

“If the announcement of the DCT for the legislative positions takes place on November 3, 2023, then the announcement of presidential and vice-presidential candidates will occur on November 13, 2023,” explained Hasyim.

These changes have the effect of reducing the campaign period for all participants in the 2024 elections by 75 days.

Hasyim Asy’ari emphasized that the alterations in the nomination process are significant because the voting day is a definitive and challenging aspect to change.

Arsul Sani, a member of the House of Representatives Commission II, expressed confidence that a one-week nomination period would suffice for presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

He highlighted the positive aspect of the change being that the public will have a quicker grasp of who the candidates are, despite the shorter campaign period.

Moreover, Arsul pointed out that this adjustment would compel political party coalitions to make quicker decisions about their presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

However, he noted that KPU had not officially communicated this draft proposal, and the Commission II of the House of Representatives would wait for an official explanation from the KPU.

On a related note, Ahmad Doli Kurnia, Chairman of the House of Representatives Commission II, disclosed that they intended to summon the KPU to discuss the proposed changes to the presidential and vice-presidential nomination schedule.

He stressed the need for prior consultation with Commission II before finalizing the PKPU.

Ahmad Doli Kurnia, Chairman of the House of Representatives Commission II.

In response, Idham Holik, a member of the KPU, clarified that the adjustments made to the nomination schedule were not a result of the commission’s decision to advance the timeline but were mandated by the new provisions in Law No. 7 of 2023.

Support for the proposed changes came from Mahfud MD, the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs. He expressed the view that accelerating the nomination process would put an end to prolonged deliberations on candidate selection.

Mahfud suggested that the shorter nomination period would provide the public with quicker clarity regarding the presidential and vice-presidential candidates. However, he assured that the voting date, February 14, 2024, would remain unchanged.

The proposed alterations to the presidential and vice-presidential nomination schedule are currently in the form of a draft PKPU.

Still, Mahfud MD is optimistic that it will not require extensive time to be finalized, as it does not necessitate legislative approval.

Instead, it only needs consensus among Commission II, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the KPU, and Bawaslu (Election Supervisory Board).

He emphasized that a shorter nomination period would be more efficient and prevent unnecessary delays.