Jakarta (VNA) – Under pressure from large-scale protests in Indonesia, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Sufmi Dasco Ahmad announced that the Indonesian parliament has decided to drop its plan to revise the Law on Regional Leaders' Election.
Hence, the law will be applied concurrently with the Constitutional Court decision regarding the electoral threshold and candidates' age limit for regional head elections, local media reported.
On August 20, the Constitutional Court of Indonesia decided that the threshold for nominating candidates for regional head and deputy regional head posts should be solely based on votes gained in regional elections instead of seats in regional parliaments.
The verdict effectively overrides Article 40 of the Law on Regional Leaders' Election, which requires parties to either gain 25% of the vote share or 20% of the regional parliaments' seats to nominate candidates.
The court also declared on the same day that the age threshold for regional head candidates - 30 years for governors and 25 years for district heads and mayors - should be counted from the day of their registration.
However, the Indonesian parliament's Legislative Body and the government on August 21 approved revisions to the Law on Regional Leaders' Election for ratification at a plenary session. The revision only partly adheres to the Constitutional Court ruling.
The parliament's action sparked a public uproar, which culminated in demonstrations in several cities throughout the country. The protest in Jakarta was centred at the Parliament Complex, where thousands of students and members of the public gathered. They led to chaos and dozens of arrests.
In Semarang, Central Java, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd./.
Indonesia to establish cybersecurity academy
Indonesian authorities have stressed that the country needs to collaborate with private actors to develop a cyber-security academy to fortify the national cyber defense posture.
