Legitimacy and Limits of the Authority of Acting Regional Heads in the Administration of Regional Autonomy: An Analysis Following the 2024 Simultaneous National Regional Elections
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63477/jols.v3i4.650Keywords:
Acting Regional Head, Democratic Legitimacy, Limits of Authority, Local DemocracyAbstract
This article examines (1) how the appointment mechanism and limits of authority of acting regional heads are regulated under Law Number 10 of 2016 and its implementing instruments in light of Constitutional Court Decisions Number 67/PUU-XIX/2021 and 15/PUU-XX/2022, and (2) the implications of such appointments for regional autonomy and local democracy. Using normative legal research with statutory, conceptual, and case approaches, the study finds that Article 201(9)–(11) of Law 10/2016 regulates only the rank requirement, while procedures were issued belatedly through Minister of Home Affairs Regulation Number 4 of 2023, an instrument of insufficient rank that gives regional legislatures a non-binding role. Statutory limits on authority were relaxed by Circular Letter Number 821/5492/SJ, which lies outside the hierarchy of legislation. These conditions produced a democratic legitimacy deficit, upward accountability resembling deconcentration, risks to bureaucratic neutrality, and weakened horizontal accountability. In view of Decision Number 135/PUU-XXII/2024, the article proposes a statutory framework based on proportionality between democratic legitimacy and the scope of authority.
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