January 18, 2026 | 04:14 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Political maneuvers by parties backing Prabowo Subianto to restore the election of regional heads through regional legislative councils (DPRDs) have pushed civil society groups to organize resistance. The Civil Society Coalition for the Codification of Election Laws plans to circulate letters requesting discussions on elections to the offices of political parties that hold seats in the House of Representatives (DPR).
The Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) has joined the Coalition as one of its members. Perludem Chair Heroik Mutaqin Pratama said he Coalition aims to discuss public aspirations that continue to favor direct regional head elections rather than selections by the DPRDs. "The direct election scheme must apply to both national and regional elections," Heroik told Tempo on Tuesday, January 6, 2026.
According to Heroik, direct regional elections are nonnegotiable. He pointed to a series of Constitutional Court rulings by the sole interpreter of the 1945 Constitution on electoral rules. The Court, he said, has ruled that regional head elections fall under the general election regime and must adhere to the principles of being direct, general, free, secret, honest, and fair.
As a member of the Coalition, Perludem rejects elections conducted through the DPRDs on the pretext of cutting political costs. President Prabowo Subianto has cited the high cost of organizing regional head elections as the backdrop for advancing the idea of indirect elections. Heroik said the problem of expensive elections cannot simply be solved by changing the electoral model, but by cutting campaign costs and eradicating money politics.
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