Members of the Parliament Debated Over the Issue of Voting Rights for Military/Police Members

During the meeting session to discuss the Election Law Bill, members of the Parliament debated whether they should restore the voting rights of military/police members. Members from the Democrat Party and Gerindra Party questioned whether it is the right move to restore such rights.

“In advanced countries, military and police members have voting rights. We need to answer whether it is a right thing to do to provide such rights to Indonesian military/police members,” says the chief of the meeting, Ahmad Riza Patria, who is also a politician from Gerindra Party (12/13).

As a response to the question, the Commander of the National Army, Gatot Nurmantyo, says that the issue can only be resolved in 2024, when the Government has fully implement concurrent election where national and local elections are held concurrently.

“We can only answer the question in 2024,” says Gatot.

There is a prohibition for any military/police member to vote in elections as contained in the Article 168 of the new Election Law Bill. Military/police member is also prohibited to participate as a member of campaign team of a candidate.