If I were to bag a seat in the House of Representatives (DPR), I would suggest granting one seven-year term to the Indonesian president
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party politician Andre Rosiade vowed to put forth a proposal for the Indonesian president to be granted a seven-year term to facilitate him in focusing on the national and state development.

"If I were to bag a seat in the House of Representatives (DPR), I would suggest granting one seven-year term to the Indonesian president," he stated while addressing those present at a discussion forum in Jakarta on Saturday.

Since the Soeharto regime fell in 1998, the Indonesian president is solely permitted to have two consecutive five-year terms until he/she emerges victorious in the presidential elections.

During a speech at the discussion forum themed "the silent killer of simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections," Rosiade explained the relevance of putting forth the proposal after having witnessed alleged electoral frauds during the 2019 presidential elections.

Hence, Rosiade pointed out that the incumbent president would need to direct all his resources and efforts to help him win the presidential elections for taking the nation forward for the second five-year term, which is something that did not bode well with him.

Rosiade, one of the spokespersons of the Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno pair, believes that with a seven-year term at hand, the Indonesian president would be able to give full attention to his mandated works for the best interests of the state and nation.

On Apr 17, over 80 percent of the 192 million eligible voters throughout Indonesia exercised their voting rights to elect their representatives in the House of Representatives (DPR), Regional Representatives Council (DPD), as well as provincial and district/city legislative bodies.

The people also cast their ballot for their favored presidential and vice presidential candidate pair at over 800 thousand polling stations across the archipelagic nation.

An exit poll conducted by the Prabowo-Sandi pair camp indicated them securing 55.4 percent of the votes, Coordinator of the pair's National Winning Body's spokespersons Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak revealed.

At the same time, quick counts from several pollsters broadcast live by several television stations pointed to a steady lead for the Joko Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin pair, trouncing over the Prabowo-Sandi pair.

Both camps currently await the General Elections Commission's (KPU's) real count, as the final result is legally binding.

Prabowo Subianto has leveled allegations against the Jokowi-Amin pair of trying to swing the public's opinion via pollsters of TV stations.

However, presidential candidate number 02 Subianto has called upon his supporters and volunteers to stay unperturbed and protect the ballot boxes.

"Please stay focused on safeguarding all ballot boxes, as votes are the key to fighting deceit," he emphasized.




Translator: Imam B, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019