The Constitutional Construction of Separate National and Regional Elections in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71250/rlr.v4i2.194Keywords:
Constitutional Adjudication, Constitutional Democracy, National Elections, Political Rights, Regional ElectionsAbstract
General elections in Indonesia shape representative democracy and the constitutional exercise of public power. This study examines the constitutional basis and regulatory construction of separating national and regional elections. It uses normative legal research with statutory, conceptual, and case approaches, examining the 1945 Constitution, election legislation, and relevant Constitutional Court decisions. Legal materials are analyzed through grammatical, systematic, historical, and teleological-constitutional interpretation to identify each decision’s ratio decidendi, operative order, and legal consequences. The study finds that Decision No. 135/PUU-XXII/2024 declares specified provisions conditionally unconstitutional unless interpreted to require national elections for the President/Vice President, DPR, and DPD, followed by regional elections for DPRD and regional heads after an interval of 2 to 2.5 years. Decision No. 259/PUU-XXIV/2026 reaffirms that this interpretation has been binding since June 26, 2025, and applies from the 2029 elections; it creates no additional statutory deadline. The article develops a three-part normative framework linking equal and accessible political rights; representation, accountability, and oversight; and legal certainty, transition, and institutional integrity. Electoral separation does not automatically guarantee democratic improvement; its value depends on enforceable legal safeguards and measurable institutional performance.
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