"We had earlier decided that the local elections will take place on November 27, 2024," DPR RI Commission II chair Ahmad Doli Kurnia told the hearing meeting's attendees at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta on Monday.
Apart from DPR RI's Commission II, officials from the Home Affairs Ministry, General Elections Commission (KPU), General Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), and the General Elections Organiser Honorary Council (DKPP) have all participated in the hearing meeting.
Before reaching a consensus, KPU Commissioner Arief Budiman dissented with the proposed date by suggesting the deliberation on the regional elections' date to be continued to the next hearing session.
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The commissioner noted that clauses in Law No. 10 of 2016 on local elections implied that general elections must be completed in the current year, including the inauguration of elected regional leaders.
"If we designate the date to November 27, 2024, then the entire electoral process, including the resolution of election disputes, will be completed only in 2025," Budiman stated.
To accommodate the proposed local election date, the commissioner drew attention to a likelihood of candidates whose election victories are uncontested being inaugurated in 2024, while candidates with contested results being likely inaugurated in 2025.
"Next week, we will present the proposed date for election stages to ensure that the final stage of the inauguration of new leaders can be concluded within 2024," he noted.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Tito Karnavian urged the meeting's attendees to confirm November 27, 2024, as the date to hold simultaneous local elections.
"We should reconfirm the date to ensure clarity among residents," Karnavian stated.
After taking into account inputs from the meeting's attendees, Commission II chair Kurnia then struck the gavel to finalise the date for holding the local elections at Wednesday, November 27, 2024.
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Translator: Fauzi, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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