THE political parties should not arbitrarily replace House of Representatives (DPR) candidates who have been elected, yet alone, if this is based on internal decisions or for unclear reasons. These arbitrary actions betray the principle of people’s sovereignty as well as the decision made, and the mandate given, by the people.

A number of parties have replaced their legislators elected in the 2024 election, before the inauguration of the DPR members scheduled for October 1. For example, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has replaced two of its members. Other parties, such as the National Awakening Party (PKB), the NasDem Party and the Golkar Party have taken similar actions. They did this by dismissing a number of elected candidates so that they no longer met the requirements, or by forcing them to resign in order to allow the entry of legislators from elites close to the parties.

These actions clearly damaged the open proportional system used for elections. Under this system, elected candidates are decided based on the highest share of the vote, not on the wishes of the party elite. Political parties should accept the results of the people’s vote, no matter which candidates are elected.

The open proportional system makes it possible for the people to directly elect their representatives at the ballot box. This raises the hope that their aspirations will be championed by the legislators they have elected. If these elected legislative candidates are suddenly replaced, this is clearly an affront to voters. Why hold elections if the results can simply be changed by the parties?

It is true that the General Election Law lists a number of criteria allowing for the replacement of elected legislators, such as death, resignation, failure to meet the requirements, or a court ruling disallowing them. And the regulations of the General Election Commission (KPU) also state that prospective legislators who do not fulfill the requirements include those who are dismissed or resign from the parties backing them. Unfortunately, this regulation provides an opportunity for parties to replace elected candidates as they please.

The KPU should be stricter in its verification of the reasons for resignations or dismissals of elected legislators. There must be no transgressions of the electoral system resulting from the interventions by party elites. The KPU must hold firm in defending the principles of elections that are honest and fair, as well as ensuring that the people’s mandate is respected.

After the votes have been counted, the political parties should respect the vote of the majority. The elected candidates are representatives of the people, and it is they who have been elected to voice the aspirations of the people, unless there are candidates who have been dishonestly elected, for example by manipulating the vote. Dishonest candidates should not become representatives of the people. They should resign or be dismissed.