The damage had already been done when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party walked out on the mother of all legislative sessions that saw direct voting taken away from the people in regional elections. But now, it appears the outgoing president is looking to make amends.
The president issued two governmental regulations in lieu of the law (Peraturan Pemerintah Pengganti Undang-Undang or Perppu) in regards to the new regional elections laws. The first is a regulation that overrides the law that regional officials are elected by the DPRD or regional legislators. The second, to avoid any loopholes, is a regulation that takes away the right of DPRD members to elect regional officials.
As a result, the right to vote for regional officials returns to the people. But we’re not out of the woods yet.
The DPR has to approve of the governmental regulations within 30 days for them to take effect. Even the president knows how tough it will be to win the legislators’ approval.
“I realize there are political risks with these regulations because we need the DPR’s approval. That said, I am obliged to take the risk and to struggle with the people so we can preserve our sovereignty and democracy,” said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at a press conference in the Presidential Palace Thursday evening.
There is still a very good chance that the Merah Putih Coalition-dominated DPR will block SBY’s decree. If that happens, it will be up to the Constitutional Court to step in and restore power to the people.
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