President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is scheduled to meet with General Elections Commission (KPU) leaders to find a solution to the fact that a number of regions have only one candidate pair in the upcoming simultaneous regional elections.
“On Tuesday afternoon, I will meet with the KPU head [Husni Kamil Manik], the home minister [Tjahjo Kumolo] and the House of Representatives speaker to discuss the matter,” President Jokowi said as quoted by Antara.
He was speaking after inaugurating banking facilities for fishermen in Kali Adem Port in Pluit, Jakarta, on Tuesday. The Election Supervisory Committee (Bawaslu) and Election Organizers Ethics Council (DKPP) were reported to have been invited to attend the meeting.
President Jokowi said that during the meeting, he and representatives of the election-related institutions would discuss a number of options to settle the problem, including whether there was a need to issue a government regulation in lieu of a law (Perppu).
“Surely, I will inform you [about the government’s decision] after the meeting,” he said.
Earlier, House Speaker Setya Novanto confirmed on Monday that House leaders would consult with President Jokowi on the problem faced by the 13 regions that would potentially have one pair of candidates in the upcoming regional elections. He said the issuance of a Perppu would become one of the alternatives to resolve the problem.
Setya said the House would examine the readiness of regions to hold the upcoming regional elections by studying input from the KPU. “We must conduct a thorough evaluation to complete preparations conducted by the commission. Such an evaluation needs to be done so that the House can understand problems that may occur in the implementation of the regional elections,” said Setya.
The Jakarta Post
