JAKARTA. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that he had consulted with Constitutional Court (MK) chief justice Hamdan Zoelva about the regional election bill (RUU Pilkada) before the bill was voted into law.

“I have just communicated with the MK’s chief. I have asked several consultative questions of him, as between President and chief justice,” Yudhoyono said in Osaka, Japan, on Sunday evening, as quoted by kompas.com. In Japan, Yudhoyono was scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto on Monday morning.

Yudhoyono, who will leave office on Oct. 20, said that he was making serious efforts to prevent the country’s democracy from suffering a setback. Therefore, he consulted with Hamdan about the bill because he wanted the contents of the bill to be in line with the people’s wishes for direct elections for regional heads.

Since Friday last week, the bill has caused public outcry because the members of the House of Representatives decided to replace direct elections of regional heads with indirect elections after lawmakers of the Democratic Party, which supported direct elections, walked out. The public not only lambasted the party, whose lawmakers dominated the House, but also Yudhoyono as the party’s chairman because he allegedly let his lawmakers leave. Moreover, he was alleged to have made the decision for them to walk out.

Yudhoyono said that he would meet Hamdan as soon as possible after he returned home. Previously, he promised that would file for a judicial review on the regional election bill with the MK because of his disappointment with the results of the plenary session, which gave victory to the camp supporting indirect elections.

The camp supporting indirect elections, led by losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, consisted of the Gerindra Party, the Golkar Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the United Development Party (PPP). Meanwhile, the camp supporting direct elections, led by winning presidential candidate Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, consisted of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Hanura Party. The Prabowo camp’s 226 votes won against the Jokowi camp’s 135. (alz)

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie