Civil Society Concerned about Women's Representation (Masyarakat Sipil Peduli Keterwakilan Perempuan or MPKP) demands the President to evaluate the membership of the Election Organizers Honorary Council (Dewan Kehormatan Penyelenggara Pemilu or DKPP). This is a response to DKPP's decision in case No.110-PKE-DKPP/IX/2023. In this decision, DKPP appears to protect the Chair and Members of the General Election Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum or KPU), who clearly violated the electoral organizers' code of ethics by making arrangements to reduce women's representation to below 30% as a result of the intervention by the DPR (the House of Representatives).
"The President, as the head of the government, must take immediate concrete actions to evaluate the membership of DKPP in order to safeguard the independence of the KPU and ensure honest, fair, and quality elections," stated MPKP in a press release on October 27 in Jakarta."
The violation of the ethical code pertains to the incorrect method of calculating the minimum 30% quota for women candidates for members of the DPR/DPRD, as stipulated in Article 8 Paragraph (2) of PKPU 10/2023. Through the Supreme Court (Mahkamah Agung or MA) decision, it has been proven that this provision violates Law 7/2017."
MPKP believes that DKPP is incapable of working objectively in evaluating facts and clear evidence that clearly indicate serious violations against the principle of independence. The panel of case examiners is not only required to have substantial knowledge but also high integrity, so that each decision reflects justice and contributes to achieving a fair, just, and inclusive contestation."
"The considerations in DKPP's decision are not synchronized between the facts and the conclusions regarding the type of electoral organizers' code of ethics violation," it stated.
In its conclusion, DKPP stated, "The actions of the respondents have been proven to be neither careful nor professional in accommodating input from the DPR, thus creating legal uncertainty for political parties participating in the elections." The Civil Society Coalition views this as an attempt to change the violation from the principle of Independence to a violation of the Professional principle.
"The conclusion of the DKPP panel clearly shows that DKPP is protecting the Chair and Members of the KPU who have been proven to commit serious violations against the Independence principle," emphasized the coalition.
Civil Society Concerned about Women's Representation is a coalition of various civil society organizations across different issues. The member organizations include Election Corner Universitas Gajah Mada (UGM), Infid Indonesia, Kalyanamitra, Koalisi Perempuan Indonesia (KPI), Network for Democracy and Electoral Integrity (Netgrit), Perkumpulan untuk Pemilu dan Demokrasi (Perludem), Pusat Kajian Politik Universitas Indonesia (Puskapol UI), Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), and Themis. []
Translated by Catherine Natalia
