BTV, Jakarta – The General Election Commission, of KPU, on Saturday, called on political parties to listen to the choice of the people when selecting candidates for public posts, especially the president.
Indonesia will hold historic elections in 2024 when citizens will vote for the president, governors, mayors, district heads, parliament members, and provincial and district councilors in the same year.
According to the law, a presidential candidate and parliament members must be nominated by a political party, providing no room for an independent candidate.
Before appointing candidates, political parties "must exercise democratic and transparent mechanism and be open to public aspirations and their desired qualities of candidates", KPU Head Hasyim Asyari told reporters in Jakarta.
Hasyim said political parties are "strategic participants" in general elections because they have the power to determine the future president and lawmakers.
There are three leading candidates for the president according to recent polls. Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo is the front-runner in many major polls, trailed by former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto.
Anies, who has been formally nominated by the National Democratic Party (Nasdem), is the only candidate who has no roots in any political party.
The KPU has been conducting "national consolidation" since Thursday to get all election officials from the district level to the national level prepared for the massive work that begins next year when parties registered their candidates.
Election officials will handle the daunting task of verifying the data of thousands of candidates and renewing the list of over 100 million eligible voters countrywide.
In addition, they will verify the support for candidates of the Regional Representative Council, or DPD, the upper chamber of the parliament equivalent to the US Senate. DPD candidates take part in the election independently but they must meet a certain level of support to get their names on the ballot.
"All KPU officials are fit and in good shape to hold the 2024 elections," Hasyim said.