General Elections Commission

The General Elections Commission (Indonesian: Komisi Pemilihan Umum, abbreviated as KPU) is the body that organises elections in Indonesia. Its responsibilities include deciding which parties can contest elections, organising the voting and announcing the results and seats won in the various branches of the government.

General Elections Commission

Komisi Pemilihan Umum
Emblem of KPU
Symbol for elections held by KPU
Agency overview
Formed	1 February 1999 (1999-02-01)
Preceding agency	General Elections Institution
Jurisdiction	Indonesia
Headquarters	Jalan Imam Bonjol No. 29, Jakarta 10310
Agency executives	Mochammad Afifuddin, Chairman Bernad Sutrisno, Secretary-general
Key document	Law No. 2/2017
Website	kpu.go.id

History

Following the fall of President Suharto and the end of Indonesia's authoritarian New Order, as a result of public pressure, President Habibie brought forward the general elections planned for 2002 to 1999. On 1 February the People's Representative Council passed Law No. 3/1999 on the General Election, which mandated the establishment of a "free and independent General Elections Commission comprising members of political parties and the government" to oversee the elections. The commission was then established with 53 members and former home affairs minister Rudini as chair. As a result of further public pressure, the government appointed five independent people as its representatives, including noted human rights lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution. Other independent members included former Supreme Court judge Adi Andojo Soetjipto and political commentator Andi Mallarangeng. The 1999 elections were held on 7 June, and were a success thanks to the management of the KPU, although 27 of the 48 parties contesting the election (all but one of which won less than 0.7% of the vote) refused to sign the KPU document reporting the results. The KPU passed the problem on to President Habibie, who declared the results valid on 26 July.

The second incarnation of the KPU was established on 11 April 2001 to organise the 2004 elections. This time, however, the People's Representative Council (DPR) passed Law No. 4/2000, which stipulated that the KPU members be made up of nonpartisan individuals from academia and NGOs. In 2007, the People's Representative Council (DPR) passed Law No. 22/2007, which stipulated that members of the KPU serve a five-year term. It also stated that members of the KPU would be chosen by a selection committee that together with the president would put forward a list of names to the DPR, which would conduct a fit and proper test. As a result of this process, which lasted from 21 to 30 August 2007, the initial 45 candidates were whittled down to 21, and a vote was taken by the DPR to decide on the final membership. The seven people chosen for the 2007–2012 term KPU were members of regional KPUs, academics, researchers, and bureaucrats.

Headquarters

KPU central headquarters is located in a building on Jalan Imam Bonjol 29, Central Jakarta. The building, designed by architect A.W. Gmelig Meyling, was completed in 1955 and was among the first to be built in the post-war architecture style in Indonesia. It was described as "impressive" at its completion. The building was originally used for the office of the National Horticulture Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture.

KPU also has its local offices in all provinces, cities, and regencies throughout Indonesia except Aceh, where it took a name Independent Elections Commission (Komisi Independen Pemilihan or KIP) with its own structure and regulation.

Current membership

On 12 April 2022, President Joko Widodo, inaugurated members of KPU and Bawaslu for a term of 2022–2027. These are the current members (commissioners) of KPU:

Commissioners	Position	Experience
Hasyim Asy'ari	Chairman	Member of KPU Indonesia (2017–2022)
Betty Epsilon Idroos	Members	Chairman of KPU Jakarta (2018–2023)
Idham Holik		Member of KPU West Java (2018–2023)
Mochammad Afifuddin		Member of Bawaslu Indonesia (2017–2022)
Yulianto Sudrajat		Chair of KPU Central Java (2018–2023)
Parsadaan Harahap		Chair of Bawaslu Bengkulu (2017–2022)
August Mellaz		Director of Sindikasi Pemilu dan Demokrasi

List of chairmen

No.	Name	Period	Term	Commissioners	Elections
1	Rudini	1999–2001	1	Rudini Adnan Buyung Nasution Harun Alrasid Adi Andojo Soetjipto Andi Mallarangeng 48 other members	1999
2	Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin	2001–2005	2	Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin Ramlan Surbakti Mulyana W. Kusumah Daan Dimara Rusada Kantaprawira Budidarmawan Prasojo Anas Urbaningrum Chusnul Mar'iyah F. X. Mudji Sutrisno Hamid Awaluddin Valina Singka Subekti	2004
–	Ramlan Surbakti	2005–2007
3	Abdul Hafiz Anshari	2007–2012	3	Abdul Hafiz Anshari Endang Sulastri Sri Nuryanti I Gusti Putu Artha Abdul Aziz Syamsul Bahri Andi Nurpati	2009
4	Husni Kamil Manik	2012–2016	4	Husni Kamil Manik Arief Budiman Hadar Nafis Gumay Ida Budhiati Sigit Pamungkas Juri Adriantoro Ferry Rizkiyansyah	2014
–	Hadar Nafis Gumay	2016
5	Juri Adriantoro	2016–2017
6	Arief Budiman	2017–2021	5	Arief Budiman Evi Novida Manik Hasyim Asy'ari Wahyu Setiawan Viryan Pramono Tantowi Ilham Saputra	2019
7	Ilham Saputra	2021–2022
8	Hasyim Asy'ari	2022–2024	6	Hasyim Asy'ari Betty Epsilon Idroos Idham Holik Mochammad Afifuddin Yulianto Sudrajat Parsadaan Harahap August Mellaz	2024
9	Mochammad Afifuddin	2024–

See also

• General Election Supervisory Agency
• Elections in Indonesia

References

• Abdullah, Taufik (April 2009). Indonesia: Towards Democracy. Solo: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 978-981-2303660.
• Manning, Chris; van Dierman, Peter (April 2000). Indonesia in Transition: Social Aspects of Reformasi and Crisis. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ISBN 978-1856499248.
• Merrillees, Scott (2015). Jakarta: Portraits of a Capital 1950-1980. Jakarta: Equinox Publishing. ISBN 9786028397308.
• Puspoyo, Widjanarko (December 2012). Dari Soekarno Hingga Yudhoyono, Pemilu Indonesia 1955 - 2009 (From Soekarno to Yudhoyono. Indonesian General Elections 1955 - 2009). Solo: Eka Adicitra Intermedia. ISBN 9786028237970.
• "Profil Komisi Pemilihan Umum (Profile of the General Elections Commission)" (in Indonesian). KPU. Retrieved 25 March 2014.