It also ignores the most fundamental aspect in politics that requires discipline and compliance with the Constitution.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Secretary General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) Hasto Kristiyanto has brushed aside a proposal for suspending general elections, as he believes that it lacks a strong legal basis.

"It also ignores the most fundamental aspect in politics that requires discipline and compliance with the Constitution," Kristiyanto noted in a written statement released in Jakarta on Thursday.

The presidential oath also accentuates the importance of upholding the 1945 Constitution and implementing all existing laws and regulations as sincerely as possible, the PDIP secretary general pointed out.

The Constitution stipulates that general elections must be held every five years based on direct, general, free, secret, honest, and fair principles.

"For this part, there is no room at all to suspend the general elections (2024)," he said.


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For the umpteenth time, President Joko Widodo has expressed his objection to various proposals to extend his term of office or suspend the general elections, he noted.

"The periodization of quinquennial general elections focus on forming the culture of democracy and culture of correlation with the quality of democracy. If the culture of periodization is disrupted, then this will have an impact on political instability. Instead of thinking of suspending the 2024 general elections, we'd better take consolidation steps to make preparations for the general elections," he emphasized.

Earlier, Vice House Speaker Muhaimin Iskandar, concurrently chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB), had put forth a proposal to postpone the 2024 general elections for one to two years in order to maintain the momentum of economic recovery.


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Muhaimin noted that the COVID-19 pandemic, which protracted for over two years, had led to stagnation and also economic slowdown. However, an upward trend in the economy was observed in recent months.

"When I received MSME (micro small and medium business) players, businesspeople, and economic analysts from various banks, I obtained many important inputs. In essence, (the inputs are related to) the post-pandemic economic prospects. Based on the inputs, I propose that the 2024 general elections be suspended for one to two years," he stated.

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Translator: Syaiful Hakim, Suharto
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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