KPU To Push Ahead with 2024 Elections Despite Controversial Court Ruling

TheIndonesia.co - Indonesia Election Commission (KPU) forges to continue organizing next year's presidential election, defying a surprise ruling by the Jakarta District Court to halt all elections for more than two years. 

The head of the Election Commission Hasyim Asy'ari said it would appeal the ruling which was issued over a lawsuit filed by the Prima Party to the higher court.

"Any laws regulating election processes and schedules are still legal and legally binding," Hasyim Asy'ari told a news conference, adding it would continue to work despite the ruling.

It was not immediately clear why the court ordered all election processes to stop, which would be pushed back at least to 2025 for selecting a new president and legislature. 

The country's chief security Mahfud MD dismissed the ruling, saying the district court has no authority to decide the election issues.

Indonesia's biggest party, which is also President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) said the court had no right to make the decision and the judges should be investigated.

"PDIP thinks the court's ruling must be annulled," Hasto Kristiyanto the PDIP secretary general said in a statement.

Continuously Debated

The extension of the president's tenure has been a hot issue in Indonesia, sparking a lively debate with some senior political figures openly backing and opposing the idea of Jokowi staying in office beyond his second term.

In a statement, Jokowi rejected the idea and critics have called it undemocratic. 

The lawsuit was filed last year by the Prima Party, a new party that has never contested an election, formed in 2020. 

"We hope all parties respect the ruling by the district court. Sovereignty is in the hands of the people," Prima Party chairman, Agus Jabo Priyono said in a joint statement. 

Indonesia's law and human rights minister, Yasonna Laoly, hasn't given a comment, while Mahfud MD, the chief security minister, said the court had made a sensational ruling that it had no authority to issue. 

"The verdict is wrong, the logic is simple. It is easy to deny this verdict, but it might trigger controversy," he said on his Instagram account, adding it should be legally challenged and rejected by people.