COMPASS/HIDAYAT SALAM
Atmosphere of the 14th DPR Plenary Session, Fourth Session Period, 2023-2024 Session Year at the Nusantara II Building, Jakarta, Thursday (28/3/2024). The DPR passed the Draft Law concerning the Second Amendment to Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Villages.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Draft Law concerning the Second Amendment to Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Villages was finally ratified at the DPR Plenary Session, Thursday (28/3/2024). With the passing of this new regulation, the term of office of village heads currently in office was increased, reaching eight years. This is because the government and the DPR agreed to change the term of office for village heads from six years to eight years.
The plenary meeting with the agenda for decision making on the Bill concerning the Second Amendment to Law No. 6/2014 concerning Villages was chaired directly by the Chair of the DPR, Puan Maharani. In the plenary meeting held at the Nusantara II Building, Jakarta, not a single faction in the DPR rejected the ratification of the Village Bill. All nine factions in parliament unanimously agreed to ratify the new regulations for the village.
“We express our highest thanks and appreciation to all parties involved in ensuring that the discussion of the bill runs smoothly,” said Puan after listening to the President’s final opinion on the Village Bill which was delivered by the Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian.
Also read: Potential for Village Head Deviations to Increase if the Village Bill is Passed
KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN
Speaker of the DPR Puan Maharani (center) accompanied by Deputy Speaker of the DPR Rachmat Gobel (left), Lodewijk F Paulus (second from left), Sufmi Dasco Ahmad (second from right), and Muhaimin Iskandar (right), leading the DPR Plenary Session at the Parliament Building, Jakarta, Wednesday (16/8/2023).
The second amendment to the Village Law is an initiative proposal from the DPR. The draft amendment to the Village Law was passed as an initiative bill by the DPR at the plenary session on July 11 2023. However, the Village Bill was only passed into law on Thursday (28/3/2024).
Applause and cheers echoed in the plenary meeting room as soon as Puan knocked the gavel, marking the approval of the Village Bill into law. Not only DPR members, representatives from the Association of Indonesian Village Governments (Apdesi) who took part in the meeting from the balcony of the plenary room also applauded the ratification of the Village Bill.
A number of new rules are regulated in the amendments to the Village Law. One of them is that the term of office of the village head is eight years and can be elected for a maximum of two terms of office (article 39). Previously, the term of office of a village head was set at six years, but he could serve a maximum of three terms.
Also read: Village Head’s term of office of 9 years is agreed to take effect after the Village Bill is ratified
The new provisions for the position of village head are actually lower than the DPR’s previous proposal. In the draft Village Bill prepared by the DPR Legislation Body (Baleg), the position of village head is proposed for nine years.
KOMPAS/FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN
Thousands of village heads from various regions in Indonesia demonstrated in front of the DPR building, Jakarta, Tuesday (17/1/2023).
Another provision that has been changed is related to village income sources. Article 72 stipulates that one source of village income is the allocation of village funds. If previously village fund allocation was set at a minimum of 10 percent of the balancing funds received by districts/cities in the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) after deducting special allocation funds (DAK), now it is at least 10 percent of general allocation funds (DAU) and profit sharing funds received by districts/cities in the APBD.
Immediately happens
Deputy Chairman of the DPR Legislative Body (Baleg) Achmad Baidowi, after the plenary meeting, explained that the changes to the two Village Laws took effect immediately after they were promulgated. All new provisions, including the eight-year term of office for village heads, will also take effect immediately as soon as the regulation is promulgated.
Thus, according to Awiek, the term of office of the current village head will automatically be extended to a total of eight years. “For example, if the village head has served for five years, that means an additional three years. “If you have only served for two years, that means six more years,” said Baidowi.
The term of office of the current village head is automatically extended to a total of eight years.
Article 118 stipulates that village heads who are still serving in the first and second terms will complete the remainder of their term of office in accordance with the provisions of the new law and can run for another term.
The new law also stipulates that village heads whose terms of office expire in February 2024 can be extended in accordance with the provisions of the law. This means that the village head can continue his position for the next two years.
Apart from that, continued Baidowi, village heads who had served two terms before the new law took effect can run again for another term.
KOMPAS/FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN
One of the command cars used by the demonstrators who were members of thousands of village heads throughout Indonesia to give speeches in front of the DPR building, Jakarta, Tuesday (17/1/2022).
Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian, when reading the President’s final opinion on the Village Bill, said that the new Village Law will make villages more advanced and prosperous and realize Indonesia’s golden ideals in 2045.
The process of enacting the Village Law, he continued, could be a breakthrough in accelerating the improvement of village government performance to be better in terms of community development, community empowerment, and village development. Villages will become a force and center for development, not just cities or urban areas.
Also read: Political Transaction Signals in the Revision of the Village Law
“After this bill is promulgated, the government will immediately socialize it to all policy makers at the central and regional levels and prepare implementing regulations as mandated in this bill,” said Tito.