Postponing general elections is the second popular strategy (to extend power) besides amending the Constitution.

Semarang (ANTARA) – No country in the world is postponing general elections on the pretext of keeping economic growth stable, according to a general election campaigner.

“Postponing the general elections is the second popular strategy (to extend power) in addition to modifying the Constitution,” said on Saturday a member of the advisory board of the Association for General Elections and Democracy (Perludem), Titi Anggraini. , in Semarang, Central Java.

Some political parties that make up the Jokowi administration’s coalition have backed a rhetoric to postpone the 2024 general elections.

Anggraini said the speech was part of a strategy to extend the term of office as well as avoid restrictions on term limits by postponing general elections.

According to Perludem’s advisory board member, during the COVID-19 pandemic, several countries had suspended general elections for a while to protect their citizens from the coronavirus.

“They did it with precise and strict legal considerations and a transparent process,” she pointed out.

If the reason for postponing the elections is to maintain economic growth, then it will be unacceptable and unconstitutional, Anggraini noted.

Article 7 of the 1945 Constitution states that a president and vice president are elected for a five-year term and can be re-elected for a second term, she said.

Moreover, Article 22E paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution explicitly states that general elections shall be held every five years on the basis of direct, general, free, secret, honest and fair principles.

“Political elites and leaders of political parties should abide by the Constitution rather than recommending something that is not clearly regulated by the General Elections Act and the Constitution,” she said.

People’s Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Zulkifli Hasan said his party supported a rhetoric to postpone the 2024 general election.

“Considering various factors and contributions from the public and groups, the PAN has decided to accept the postponement of the 2024 general elections,” Hasan told the parliament complex here on Friday.

Hasan noted that the pandemic has brought unstable economic conditions, such as the low economic growth of around 3-3.5 percent which has forced people to struggle to recover from the impacts of the pandemic on the economy.

Meanwhile, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairman Muhaimin Iskandar has suggested that the 2024 general elections be postponed due to the economic gloom.

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However, the Secretary General of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), Hasto Kristiyanto, has rejected a proposal to suspend the general elections, as he believes that it lacks a solid legal basis.

“He also ignores the most fundamental aspect of politics which requires discipline and respect for the Constitution,” Kristiyanto noted in a written statement released in Jakarta on Thursday.

For the umpteenth time, President Joko Widodo has expressed his objection to various proposals to extend his mandate or suspend the legislative elections, he noted.

“The periodization of the five-year general elections focuses on forming the culture of democracy and the culture of correlation with the quality of democracy. If the culture of periodization is disrupted, then it will have an impact on the instability Instead of thinking about suspending the 2024 general election, we had better take consolidation measures to prepare for the general election,” he stressed.

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