SBY to file judicial review on Pilkada bill

JAKARTA. Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said on Friday that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Party, would file a judicial review on the regional election (Pilkada) bill with the Constitutional Court (MK) because of his disappointment with the results of a plenary session at the House of Representatives.

During the plenary session, which ran until Friday’s pre-dawn hours, the House decided to replace direct elections of regional heads with indirect elections after lawmakers of the Democratic Party, which supported direct elections, walked out.

The number of votes from the camp supporting direct elections totaled 135 only, which were far fewer than the 226 votes from the camp supporting indirect elections.

The Democratic Party’s lawmakers walked out because the 10 points they proposed to improve on direct elections were rejected during the plenary session.

The winning presidential candidate Joko “Jokowi” Widodo-led camp, which supported direct elections, consisted of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Hanura Party. Meanwhile, the losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto-led camp supporting indirect elections consisted of the Golkar Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the Gerindra Party.

“Pak SBY has fought to maintain the direct elections [by proposing 10 points of improvement], but it was not accommodated and was even rejected by some factions at the House. Thus, the Democratic Party will file a judicial review to the MK,” he said, as quoted by kompas.com.

Yudhoyono previously said that he fully supported the direct-election system through a video uploaded to the party’s Youtube account, named Suara Demokrat.

His support was previously believed to have assured a victory for the camp supporting direct elections because the Democratic Party has 148 lawmakers.

However, the camp supporting indirect elections instead won the voting because the Democratic Party, which had publicly supported direct elections, decided to walk out. (alz/nfo)