Constitution and Democracy Undermined, the People Fight Back

In recent times, the political condition of democracy in Indonesia has been in serious turmoil. Civil society such as students, scholars, academics, activists, artists, and those who feel uneasy about the chaos of Indonesia's democracy have poured out in demonstrations of people's resistance to the DPR RI Building, KPU RI, and around the state palace. They voiced their concerns about the DPR RI's arbitrary move to annul the Constitutional Court (MK) Decision Number 60/PUU-XXII/2024 concerning the minimum requirements that must be met by political parties in carrying candidates in the 2024 Regional Head Elections (Pilkada) which will be held simultaneously on November 27, 2024 and Decision Number 70/PUU-XXII/2024 concerning the age limit for candidates to register for the 2024 Regional Head Elections. 

Source: Antara Foto/Muhammad Adimaja

Through its decision, the Constitutional Court set the requirements for political parties and coalitions of political parties to be able to carry candidates in the 2024 Regional Elections based on the acquisition of the number of valid votes in the regional legislative elections, which is a minimum limit of 6.5%-10% of the valid vote acquisition from previously required to have 20% of the legislative seats. Through this decision, the Constitutional Court allows political parties or coalitions of parties that do not have legislative seats in the DPRD to carry candidates to participate in the Pilkada contestation as long as they fulfill the provisions of the legislative election vote in the region of 6.5%-10%. The Constitutional Court also stipulates that the age limit for regent/mayor candidates is 25 years old when they are appointed as candidates by the KPU and the Constitutional Court sets the age limit for governor candidates at 30 years old when they are appointed as candidates by the KPU. 

Previously, the Supreme Court (MA) set the age limit for regent/mayor candidates at 25 years old when inaugurated and the age limit for governor candidates at 30 years old when inaugurated. As a result of the Constitutional Court's decision, parties in the parliament, which is now comprised mostly of government-supporting parties called Onward Indonesia Coalition, feel aggrieved because some of their political agendas are in danger of being cancelled. For example, KIM cannot nominate Kaesang Pangarep, President Jokowi's youngest son who is predicted to run as a candidate for deputy governor in the 2024 Central Java Regional Election because Kaesang is not yet 30 years old at the time of registration and determination of candidates.

Realizing that their political interests were being disrupted, just a day after the Constitutional Court's decision was officially read on August 20, 2024, on Wednesday, August 21, 2024, members of the Legislative Body (Baleg) and members of Commission II of the House of Representatives together with the government accelerated the revision of the  Regional Head Election Law to overturn the Constitutional Court's decision and on August 22, 2024, they will ratify the revision in a plenary meeting of the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, the people did not remain silent. The night before the revision of the Regional Head Election Law was passed, the people echoed digital warnings on social media channels about the urgency and emergency conditions in Indonesia if the revision of the Regional Head Election Law was passed by the House of Representatives.

Through the internet, netizens posted a Garuda Biru emergency alert. This warning became a buzz on social media timelines, which then led to the outbreak of popular demonstrations against the ratification of the Regional Head Election Law by the House of Representatives, which aims to scuttle the Constitutional Court's decision. For a whole day, the people have been protesting against the arbitrariness of members of the House of Representatives who do not want to comply with the Constitutional Court's ruling by revising the Regional Head Election Law in record time just to fulfil their political ambitions. They forgot that constitutionally, the Constitutional Court's decision is final and binding and hierarchically, above the Supreme Court's decision so that anyone affected by the Constitutional Court's decision must obey and accept.

In comparison, previously, the House of Representatives, whose members are government supporters, immediately submitted without protest when the Constitutional Court made a decision that a person could run as a presidential/vice presidential candidate even though they were not yet 40 years old as long as they had experience as a regional head or public official elected through elections. The members of the House of Representatives immediately obeyed the Constitutional Court's decision because it was deemed to be in line with their interests. At that time, the one who benefited from the issuance of the Constitutional Court's decision was Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the former Mayor of Solo who later became Prabowo's running mate despite being 36 years old.  However, when the Constitutional Court's decision did not favour their political agenda, the ruling proxies made a strategy to outsmart the Constitutional Court and defy it.

As a result, the voice of the people is indeed the voice of God and the sovereignty of the people is above all else. When the law was about to be passed, it turned out that the members of the House of Representatives who were present did not reach the quorum, or did not reach the minimum limit of meeting attendance to pass a new law, a political product of the House of Representatives. At the same time, a wave of people's voices continued to echo against the members of the House of Representatives who were eager to revise the Regional Head Election Law for their political ambitions and interests. The demonstrators have been aggressively conducting resistance demonstrations and have even managed to break through the house of representative fence. They have also urged the house of representative leadership, who are actively involved in the revision of the Regional Head Election Law, not to continue the revision of the law.

In the end, in a very chaotic and anarchic condition where many participants involved in the demonstration were arrested by security forces, public facilities were threatened with damage, and several demonstrators were killed, the leadership of the House of Representatives declared that the revision of the Regional Head Election Law would not be passed so that the applicable norm for the 2024 simultaneous elections was the Constitutional Court's decision. This is the fruit of the people's voice of resistance, anyone who intends to become an arbitrary ruler, only wants to care about his family and group then be prepared to face waves of protests and rejection from the people. It is the people who have true sovereignty, not tyrants and dictatorial rulers who are drunk with power because they are clueless. Vox populi, vox dei. Save Indonesian democracy!