KPU Seeks Regulatory Certainty as 2029 Election Preparations Begin

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Indonesian General Election Commission (KPU) estimates that the 2029 election will begin in June 2027. It needs regulatory certainty so that rule changes can be implemented before the start of the election.

Indonesian KPU Commissioner August Mellaz said that until the revision of the Election Law is ratified, preparations for the 2029 election will continue to be based on Law No. 7/2017 on Elections.

One of these processes is the recruitment of organizers. According to applicable regulations, the selection team is expected to begin forming in September 2026, six months before the organizers' term of office ends.

"The selection process for the 2029 election organizers will continue using the old legal framework, regardless of the status of the discussion on the election bill in the DPR," said Mellaz at the 2026 Populi Forum with the theme Behind the Stalled Discussion of the Election Bill, Tuesday, September 1, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

Mellaz emphasized that the discussion of the Election Law should not be rushed again as it was in 2016-2017. Law No. 7/2017 was passed in August 2017 and immediately became the basis for the 2019 election.

However, the 2019 elections faced several problems, including over 2,500 polling stations failing to conduct voting on time, over 900 ad hoc officers from the KPU dying, and the Permanent Voter List being determined three times.

According to Mellaz, this problem was resolved in the 2024 elections. The number of deceased officers fell to around 100, while the number of polling stations that failed to conduct voting on time fell to around 600.

However, there are still regulatory issues that need to be resolved. Mellaz noted that of the more than 22 Constitutional Court (MK) decisions regarding the implementation of the Election Law from 2017 to 2026, not all have been adopted through changes to the law.

One of these concerns the method of allocating DPR and DPRD seats. The KPU has simulated several methods, including d'Hondt, Jefferson, Webster, Sainte-Laguë, and Huntington-Hill.

Perkumpulan untuk Pemilu dan Demokrasi (Perludem) Director Heroik Mutaqin Pratama thinks the Election Bill for the 2029 election is too late. He encourages discussions on the implementation of Constitutional Court decisions that have not yet been adopted.

An academic from UPN Veteran Jakarta, Luky Djani, believes that revising the Election Law requires balancing the power of factions within the political elite.

Populi Center Program Director, Azriansyah, said the delay in discussing the Election Law was due to political interests. He pushed for improvements to lower barriers to political entry and create more equal competition.

With the stages of the 2029 election expected to begin in less than a year, organizers urgently need certainty regarding the rules of the game. The longer the revision of the Election Law is delayed, the less time the KPU has to implement changes before the election phase begins. ***