Tough Election Expected for MPR, DPD Speakers

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Members of the House of Representatives (DPR) take a group photo after attending a plenary session at the Senayan Legislative Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday (30/9/2019). The plenary session was the final hearing for members of the DPR for the 2014 to 2019 period. New DPR members, for the 2019 to 2024 period, will be installed on Tuesday (1/10/2019).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS— Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) senior executive Puan Maharani is to lead the House of Representatives for the 2019-2024 session. Meanwhile, a close race is expected in the elections for the speakers of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD).

The 2019-2024 legislators are to be sworn in at 10 a.m. on Tuesday (1/10/2019). The legislative complex’s Plenary Hall I, the venue of the swearing-in ceremony, was still being decorated on Monday evening.

House secretary-general Indra Iskandar said that the House leadership could also be sworn in on Tuesday afternoon or evening.

“Earlier in the day [after the lawmakers’ inauguration], discussions will be held among the House factions regarding the House speaker and deputy speakers. Afterwards, the consultative body [Bamus] will hold a small meeting to arrange the events for the afternoon and evening,” Indra said on Monday.

In keeping with Law No. 2/2018 on Legislative Institutions, five legislators are to be selected to lead the 2019-2024 House. The political party with the majority House seats will select one of its legislators to be House speaker. The political parties with the second, third, fourth and fifth largest number of House seats will each select a deputy speaker.

The PDI-P, which won 128 House seats, will select the House speaker, while the Golkar Party (85 seats), the Gerindra Party (78 seats), the Nasdem Party (59 seats) and the National Awakening Party (PKB; 58 seats) will each select a representative to be deputy speaker.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Members of the House of Representatives (DPR) sit in a plenary session at the Senayan Legislative Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday (30/9/2019). The plenary session was the final hearing for members of the DPR for the 2014 to 2019 period. New DPR members, for the 2019 to 2024 period, will be installed on Tuesday (1/10/2019).

Meanwhile, 10 lawmakers will be selected to lead the MPR, comprising nine members of the political party factions in the House and one member from the DPD. One among these 10 will be elected as the MPR speaker. Meanwhile, the DPD is to select its four leaders.

Speaker

PDI-P deputy secretary-general Utut Adianto said at Senayan that Puan would serve as the House Speaker for the 2019-2024 session. Puan had already tendered her resignation as Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister.

Meanwhile, Gerindra’s Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and Nasdem’s Rachmat Gobel are to be deputy speakers.

PKB executive Nihayatul Wafiroh said that the party was still discussing whom to appoint as its deputy speaker.

Golkar chairman Airlangga Hartarto said that the party would also be discussing its deputy speaker appointment. Party executive Ace Hasan Syadzily said that Aziz Syamsuddin and Adies Kadir were among the figures that had been nominated. Meanwhile, current House speaker Bambang Soesatyo would be nominated as the 2019-2024 MPR speaker.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Fahri Hamzah (right) takes a selfie before the start of a plenary session at the Senayan Legislative Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday (30/9/2019).The plenary session was the final hearing for members of the DPR for the 2014 to 2019 period. New DPR members, for the 2019 to 2024 period, will be installed on Tuesday (1/10/2019).

The MPR speakership election is expected to be a tight race, as the PDI-P, Golkar, Gerindra, Nasdem, the PKB and the Democratic Party are all eyeing the position.

Gerindra has nomintaed Ahmad Muzani to the position, while the PKB and Nasdem are respectively touting Muhaimin Iskandar Lestari Moerdijat as the MPR speaker.

Nasdem secretary-general Johnny G. Plate said that the party was pushing Lestari as the 2019-2024 MPR speaker. Meanwhile, PKB advisory board member Maman Imanulhaq said that his party was communicating intensively with other political parties to smooth Muhaimin’s path to the MPR speakership.

Democratic Party deputy chair Syarief Hasan and PDI-P executive Andreas Hugo Pareira said separately that their parties were also eyeing the MPR speakership. However, neither had made a decision on their candidates.

Meanwhile, the polemic surrounding the DPD speakership could also lead to a tough election. Many deem the procedure to be flawed and deliberately designed to obstruct certain figures from seeking candidacy as the DPD speaker. (MTK/NIA/DVD/REK/SAN)