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President Prabowo Discusses The Opportunity For Regional Heads To Be Elected By The Regional House Of Representatives

President Prabowo Subianto addressed the potential for changing the system of regional head elections to be conducted by the Regional Representative Council (DPRD). He noted that the current direct election system incurs significant costs.

"This system may be excessively expensive. Is that not true? From the faces of the winners, I can see their fatigue, let alone those who lost," Prabowo remarked during his speech at the 60th anniversary celebration of the Golkar Party in Sentul, Bogor, on the evening of December 12, 2024.

Prabowo suggested that if regional elections were managed by the DPRD, the country could save trillions of rupiah. He indicated that these funds could be redirected to more urgent needs.

"How many tens of trillions are spent in just a day or two, both from the state budget and from individual political figures?" he stated.

The head of state also highlighted the efficiency that could be achieved if regional leaders were elected by the DPRD. He argued that this approach would not only reduce expenses but also facilitate smoother leadership transitions.

He cited examples from neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore, stating, "I observe that our neighboring countries are efficient, like Malaysia. Even India follows a similar model. Once they elect their DPRD members, that same council selects the governor and mayor," Prabowo explained.

The proposal to alter the election system due to its high costs was also echoed by Jazilul Fawaid, a politician from the National Awakening Party. He suggested that governors should be elected by the provincial DPRD.

Jazilul pointed out that the government must spend over Rp 1 trillion for the West Java regional election, not including the costs for gubernatorial elections in other regions.

"That is not a small budget. If that Rp 1 trillion were allocated to a district in a province, such as NTT, it could significantly boost the local economy," Jazilul remarked in Jakarta on November 28, 2024.

Tag: DPRD Prabowo Subianto Regional Representative Council