Politics · Indonesia · 2 hrs ago
Former Indonesian lawmakers say disputed election rule was never discussed
Former members of Indonesia’s House Commission II say they never discussed a disputed election rule during consultations with the election commission.
The rule is Article 18(3) of a 2023 regulation issued by Indonesia’s General Elections Commission, or KPU.
The lawmakers say the draft they reviewed did not include it, and that the provision was not shown or discussed in consultation or public review.
The rule is now part of a Constitutional Court challenge to the validity of Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s eligibility as a vice-presidential candidate in the 2024 election.
The challengers have called it the “Gibran clause.”
Former commission chair Ahmad Doli Kurnia said the lawmakers checked their account with election oversight bodies and other people involved in election discussions.
They say they cannot determine how the provision entered the regulation or why, and Doli said drafting the regulation was the KPU’s responsibility.
Former members of Indonesia’s House of Representatives Commission II said a disputed election regulation provision was never discussed in consultation meetings with the election commission.
The provision is Article 18(3) of General Election Commission Regulation No. 19 of 2023.
Former Commission II chair Ahmad Doli Kurnia said the draft discussed was attached to a letter dated September 15, 2023, and did not contain the provision.
The provision is cited in a 2026 Constitutional Court petition challenging the eligibility requirements for vice-presidential candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka in the 2024 presidential election.
Doli said former lawmakers had no authority to investigate who inserted the provision or why.
- Who
- Former members of Commission II, including former chair Ahmad Doli Kurnia.
- What
- They said Article 18(3) of General Election Commission Regulation No. 19 of 2023 was never discussed in consultation meetings with the commission.
- When
- Sunday, October 18, 2026.
- Where
- Central Jakarta.
- Why
- They met to review and reaffirm whether the disputed provision had been discussed.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A draft attached to a letter dated that day was the version Commission II members said they discussed.
Former Commission II members met in Central Jakarta and said the disputed provision had never been discussed.
A Constitutional Court petition challenging the eligibility requirements for Gibran Rakabuming Raka cited the provision.
- Provision
- Article 18(3) of General Election Commission Regulation No. 19 of 2023
- Former commission
- Commission II of the House of Representatives, 2019–2024
- Former chair
- Ahmad Doli Kurnia
- Draft date
- September 15, 2023
- Court case
- 01-PHPU.PRES-XXIV/2026
- Candidate named in petition
- Gibran Rakabuming Raka
What people are saying
We concluded that the provision was never discussed, yes, it was never discussed.
The data we have is the same as theirs: what we discussed was the draft attached to the letter dated September 15, 2023, which did not contain the provision that has been mentioned or become controversial.
What is now at issue, Article 18(3), was never discussed, either in the meeting or in the public consultation.