Chair of the Electoral Draft Law Working Committee Changed, Now Led by Bahtra Banong from Gerindra

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Head of the Working Committee (Panja) for the Draft Law (RUU) on Elections is now led by Bahtra Banong, the Deputy Chairman of Commission II of the Indonesian Parliament (DPR) from the Gerindra Party.

“Based on the provisions of Article 158 paragraph (3) of the DPR Rules of Procedure, the Internal Meeting of the Panja today will designate Mr. Bahtra Banong as the Chair of the Electoral Draft Law Panja. Is this approved?” asked DPR Deputy Chairman Sufmi Dasco Ahmad during the internal meeting of the Electoral Draft Law Panja at the DPR Building in Jakarta on Thursday (8/10/2026).

The participants then expressed their agreement to appoint Bahtra as the replacement for the previous Chair of Commission II, Rifqinizamy Karsayuda from the NasDem Party, who had previously led the Electoral RUU Panja.

Bahtra was previously one of the vice chairs of the Electoral Draft Law Panja alongside Aria Bima from the PDI-P faction, Agun Gunanjar Sudarsa from the Golkar faction, and Dede Yusuf from the Democratic faction.

Dasco emphasized that the establishment of the Panja is necessary to discuss the substance of the Electoral Draft Law more thoroughly, directionally, and comprehensively.

The formation of the Panja aims to facilitate the drafting process of the Electoral RUU and ensure that every aspect of the law is discussed carefully.

Dasco reminded that the discussion of the Electoral Draft Law must consider the interests of democracy, the sovereignty of the people, legal certainty, as well as the organization of elections that are direct, public, free, secret, honest, and fair.

“Through the formation of this Panja and the designation of its Chair, Commission II of the DPR RI is committed to carrying out the mandate of the 2026 Priority Prolegnas optimally. The drafting of the Electoral Law is expected to proceed openly, participatively, transparently, and oriented towards strengthening the quality of democracy in Indonesia,” Dasco stated.