TRIBUNNEWS.COM, JAKARTA – Program Manager of the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) Fadli Ramadhanil urged the Indonesian General Election Commission (KPU) to tighten the rules for legislative candidates at the DPR to DPRD levels, who have been elected in the 2024 elections but resigned without clear reasons.
Because, he suspects that there are practices that cause the elected candidates to choose to resign before the inauguration.
“Make rules that tighten people cannot resign carelessly. In fact, if the reason for resigning is without clear grounds, what should be done is to close the space for resignation,” Fadli told reporters on Saturday (22/6/2024).
Fadli said that the phenomenon of candidates suddenly resigning without clear reasons is related to the purity of the principle of popular sovereignty of an electoral process, the electoral legal framework should strictly regulate this matter.
He also realized that Law No. 7/2007 on Elections regulates that elected DPR, DPRD, and DPD candidates may resign and can be replaced by candidates from the same party in the same electoral district.
However, the provision that allows elected candidates to resign is suspected to be a transactional space for candidates.
“In order for there to be consistency related to the principle of open proportional elections, the principle of popular sovereignty, and respect for the voices of voters, resigning candidates must indeed be made difficult, cannot be made easier, because it becomes a transactional space, in the end it is feared like that,” he explained.
Meanwhile, political observer and Director of Lingkar Madani Indonesia (LIMA) Ray Rangkuti said, there needs to be strict sanctions given to elected DPR, DPRD, DPD candidates who decide to resign before there is an official determination by the KPU.
“Indeed, sanctions must be made. At least not allowed to be involved in the election celebration again, at least one election celebration. Of course, this rule applies to those who have no strong reason to resign,” said Ray.
Ray said the KPU must make similar rules as the nomination of the president and vice president as well as the regional head and deputy regional head.
In the Election and Regional Head Election Laws, candidates for president and vice president as well as regional heads and deputy regional heads are prohibited from resigning after being officially designated as a candidate pair by the KPU.
“This rule may be made considering the nomination of the president and vice president as well as the head and deputy head of the region. Namely, they cannot resign when they have been determined as a candidate pair,” explained Ray.
Previously, the NasDem Party legislative candidate from the NTT II electoral district (electoral district) Ratu Ngadu Bonu Wulla (Ratu Wulla) decided to resign after receiving the highest number of votes and qualifying for the DPR.
Ratu resigned after receiving the third highest number of votes in the NTT II electoral district in the 2024 elections. She also became the NasDem Party candidate with the most votes in her party in the NTT II electoral district with 76,331 votes.
Ratu Wulla’s vote was also above the former Governor of NTT, Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat, who only received 65,359 votes in the NTT II electoral district or 10,972 votes adrift. Viktor Laiskodat also has the potential to qualify for the DPR after Ratu Wulla decided to withdraw from the nomination.
In addition, there is an elected DPD candidate in the Maluku electoral district, Mirati Dewaningsih, who also resigned before being officially determined by the KPU and inaugurated. She got the most votes in the Maluku electoral district.
Mirati claims she wants to run for the 2024 Central Maluku Pilbup. Mirati’s decision opens opportunities for DPD candidate Nono Sampono who is in the same electoral district as her to qualify for DPD RI again.
This article has been published on Tribunnews.com with the title “The Phenomenon of Elected Candidates Resigning Before Inauguration, Perludem: Election Law Should Regulate Strictly”, https://www.tribunnews.com/mata-lokal-memilih/2024/06/22/fenomena-caleg-terpilih-mundur-sebelum-pelantikan-perludem-mestinya-hukum-pemilu-mengatur-ketat.