A pause between the presidential and parliamentary elections, which will be held simultaneously with regional head elections in 2024 is necessary to spread the electoral committee workload, People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR RI) Deputy Speaker Syarief Hasan has opined.

“The General Elections Commission (KPU) surely needs a sufficient preparation period to ensure a safe and smooth election conduct,” Hasan said in a written statement issued in Jakarta on Friday.

He expressed concern that the electoral commission and the Constitutional Court — that adjudicates electoral disputes — would be overwhelmed if the time gap between the general and regional elections is too short.

“We are concerned the election conduct would not be optimal if the time gap between the elections is too short,” Hasan said.

He expressed confidence the KPU will properly judge its ability to hold simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections, followed by regional elections, in 2024, as the institution has sufficient experience and resources on election conduct.

“We should be attentive to the electoral commission’s workload, and we should revise the electoral plan if a potential issue is detected,” the deputy speaker added.

Despite the simultaneous elections in 2024 being codified in the electoral law, a proper law interpretation with related factors taken into account is necessary to ensure a democratic, smooth, and peaceful conduct of elections, he remarked.

“Time arrangement is one of the most important factors we should consider for the 2024 elections,” Hasan stated.

He said the government and the electoral commission are yet to agree on a definitive date for the simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections.

While the government has proposed May 15 for the general election, the KPU has proposed that the election be conducted earlier on February 21. The date of the regional head elections has been agreed to be November 27, 2024.

Source: Antara News