Michelle Gabriela, Eka Yudha Saputra, Jakarta – Masses from the Indonesia Village Administration Association (Apdesi) held another protest in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) on January 31. Hundreds of village heads and other village officials called for the revision of Law No. 6/2014 on villages, or the Village Law, to be ratified before the upcoming general elections.
As reported in Koran Tempo's February 1 edition, village heads demanded lawmakers increase the maximum term for village heads from six to nine years and allow three terms in office, as noted in the revised law. They argued that this was to avoid conflict and division between residents after the village head election.
They also proposed an increase in village funds from Rp1 billion to Rp2 billion and greater autonomy in budget management.
Many observers of regional autonomy and budget activists believe that the demands voiced by village officials are unrealistic, given that the presidential election is only a few weeks away. Some also argue that extending the terms of village heads will not directly improve the quality of village governance.
The Regional Autonomy Implementation Monitoring Committee (KPPOD) emphasized that there is no urgency to ratify the revision of the Village Law before the general elections.
"The village heads are just taking political momentum," KPPOD Executive Director Armand Suparman said, adding that there are more than 70,000 villages that could be a bargaining power for village chiefs to capitalize on their interests with the parliament members.