Jakarta – Minister of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Abdul Halim Iskandar rejected a proposal from a coalition of village heads who demanded that they could serve three terms in their position or a total of 27 years in power.
"There's no such proposal. The idea is to serve two terms and each term lasts nine years," Abdul Halim said as quoted by kompas.com.
On Wednesday, thousands of village heads across Indonesia held a protest in front of the House of Representatives last week demanding a longer term in office. The village heads also proposed that they could serve three terms.
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Budiman Sudjatmiko, one proponent of the new proposal, claimed that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo supported the idea of extending the tenure.
Answering questions from reporters on Tuesday, Jokowi made no mention of supporting the extension, only that the authority lay with the House.
"All aspirations should be communicated to the House, but the law is clear: six-year terms and for three periods. [Any revision] will have to be processed by the House."
In 2014, the House passed a law that granted greater authority to village heads as well as allowed disbursement of greater funds to villages in the country.
As of 2021, the government has transferred Rp 400.1 trillion (US$27.2 million) worth of village funds and an additional Rp 68 trillion will be transferred by the end of 2022.