Reason Presidential and Vice Presidential Inauguration Held on October 20

SEAToday.com, Jakarta-President-elect Prabowo Subianto and vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka will be inaugurated on Sunday, October 20, 2024. Both will first take a religious oath before the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR).

The date of the inauguration of Indonesia’s president and vice president on October 20 has a long history. This momentum began when Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid took on the task of replacing BJ Habibie as president in 1999.

At first, October 20 was not immediately set as the date for the inauguration of the president of the Republic of Indonesia. On August 18, 1945, the Indonesian Independence Preparatory Committee (PPKI) inaugurated Sukarno as president and Mohammad Hatta as vice president.

During the Sukarno-Hatta presidency, there were no specific rules limiting the president’s term of office. In a study titled “Limiting the Presidential Term in Indonesia” in the Rechten Journal: Legal Research and Human Rights by Juang Intan Pratiwi, Neneng Salama, and Siti Ulfah, Article 7 of the 1945 Constitution has regulated the presidential term of office for 5 years.

However, this rule is not accompanied by term limits for the president and vice president. This allows the same president to be elected repeatedly without regard to the system of limitation of power.

Finally, the amendments to the 1945 Constitution stipulated a limit on the term of office of the president, which is 5 years, and can be re-elected to the same position for only one term.

According to the book “Breaking through the Leadership Storm” by Prof. Dr. Balthasar Kambuaya, Hasyim Asyari, a former Commissioner of the General Election Commission (KPU), since the first direct general election in 2004, the presidential inauguration has always been held on October 20.

The KPU sets the date without considering what day it coincides with. This tradition began when Gus Dur was sworn in as president on October 20, 1999, through the MPR General Assembly, replacing BJ Habibie who stepped down from office on the same date.

However, Gus Dur did not end his term on the same date and stepped down on July 23, 2001. He was replaced by Megawati Soekarnoputri who served as the fifth President of the Republic of Indonesia.

Since then, October 20 has been the inauguration date for Indonesian presidents, including Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who was inaugurated on October 20, 2004, and continued his reign for a second term until his retirement on October 20, 2014. Then, Joko Widodo was inaugurated on October 20, 2014, who also served for two terms and will retire on October 20, 2024.

Writer: Vicky Octarina Arsandi

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