Jakarta – The Constitutional Court (MK) decided to prohibit elected candidates from resigning in regional elections (Pilkada). The Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) welcomes this ban.
“This is actually a good decision to affirm the principle of popular sovereignty that has been given to legislative candidates,” said Perludem researcher Fadli Ramadhani via voice message to detikcom, Friday (21/3/2025).
Fadli added that both legislative candidates who have been elected in the election process, including political parties, cannot arbitrarily resign. Then, political parties can also no longer arbitrarily fire their cadres, especially those with the status of elected candidates.
“So, it is a breath of fresh air in the conception of the principle of proportional elections, let alone open proportional elections in my opinion,” said Fadli.
Previously, the Constitutional Court’s decision regarding the prohibition of elected candidates resigning to advance in the elections was for case number 176/PUU-XXII/2024. The decision was read out in a hearing held at the Constitutional Court building on Friday (21/3/2025). The lawsuit was filed by three students, namely Adam Imam Hamdana, Wianda Julita Maharani, and Wianda Julita Maharani.
“Granting the petition of the Petitioners in part,” said the Constitutional Court.
In its consideration, the Constitutional Court said that the phenomenon of elected candidates from the 2024 elections resigning was not healthy for democracy. The phenomenon also does not rule out the possibility of transactional politics.
“It does not rule out the possibility of being transactional in nature which degrades the realization of the principle of popular sovereignty which is the essence of general elections. Thus, the Court is of the opinion that elected candidates who resign because they want to run in the general election for regional head / deputy regional head are violating the constitutional rights of voters as holders of people’s sovereignty,” said the Constitutional Court.
This article has been published on Detiknews with the title “Perludem Welcomes Ban on Elected Candidates Resigning: A Fresh Wind of Election”, read more https://news.detik.com/berita/d-7835790/perludem-sambut-baik-larangan-caleg-terpilih-mundur-angin-segar-pemilu.