National and Local Elections to Be Held Separately Starting 2029, Indonesia’s Top Court Rules

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JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Indonesia’s Constitutional Court has ruled that national and local elections must be held separately starting in 2029, ending the country’s simultaneous ‘five-box’ voting model.

The decision, issued Thursday, June 26, 2025, mandates that national-level contests for the House of Representatives (DPR), Regional Representative Council (DPD), and the presidency will no longer be held on the same day as local elections for regional legislatures and executive positions.

The ruling is part of the Court’s judgment on case No. 135/PUU-XXII/2024, filed by the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem), a civil society group advocating for electoral reform. The Court said the separation is necessary to ensure a higher quality of democratic process and reduce the burden on both voters and election organizers.

Under the current system, Indonesian voters simultaneously elect five levels of representation—president/vice president, DPR, DPD, provincial DPRD, and city/regency DPRD—on a single day. The Constitutional Court declared this model constitutionally flawed due to the complexity and logistical strain it creates.

“A constitutionally proper model separates the organization of national and regional elections,” the Court stated in its decision.

The ruling noted that while Law No. 7/2017 on General Elections remains in force, the legislature is currently preparing comprehensive reforms to electoral laws. Until such reforms are passed, the Constitutional Court deemed it necessary to issue guidance for future election cycles.

Court Cites Overload in 2024 Elections

Constitutional Court Justice Arief Hidayat pointed to the compressed timeline during the 2024 elections as a primary concern. Overlapping phases between national elections and regional head elections created a surge in workload for election officials, compromising execution quality.

“This overlapping led to an excessive workload for organizers, which in turn undermined the quality of election management,” Arief said during the ruling’s delivery.

He also noted that after completing the intense two-year core election period, the remaining tenure of election officials becomes inefficient, creating long gaps with limited tasks.

MK Reaffirms Past Elections Are Still Valid

Despite the ruling, the Court clarified that past election models remain constitutional. Vice Chief Justice Saldi Isra emphasized that the separation should be applied going forward and does not delegitimize elections held under the previous simultaneous format.

“All previous models of election implementation, including regional head elections, remain constitutionally valid,” Saldi said.