JAKARTA (Yosefardi) – The Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI-P), the winner of the 2014 Legislative Election, along with three other political parties affiliated to the ruling coalition of Presisent-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo failed to control the leadership of the 2014-2019 House of Representatives (DPR).
PDI-P, PKB, Nasdem, and Hanura opted to walk out (WO) from the House plenary session held on Wednesday (Oct. 1) evening as a protest over undemocratic mechanism of the election of the House leaders regulated in the newly Legislative Institution Law (also known as the MD3 Law) No. 17/2014. Jokowi ruling coalition failed to get support from even another one political party for proposing a package candidates of the House leaders.
Then the package candidates of the House leaders proposed by the opposition group affiliated to losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto were acclaimed as the new leaders of the 2014-2019 DPR. This package was endorsed by six parties Golkar, Gerindra, Democratic Party, PKS, PAN, and President SBY’s Democratic Party.
As reported earlier, PDI-P had filed a request of judicial review on the newly MD3 Law to the Constitutional Court. PDI-P asked the court to revoke a package system of the new mechanism to elect the House leaders and instead, granting the House leaders positions to the winner of the legislative election as stipulated by the previous MD3 Law. The court, however, rejected PDI-P’s request. (haryantos@yosefardi.biz)