Thousands of Village Heads Request Extension of Their Terms, How Many Villages Are There in Indonesia?

Thousands of village heads (kades) are demanding a revision of Law Number 6 of 2014 concerning Villages, specifically to extend the term of office for village heads from 6 years to 9 years.

"Because 6 years is simply too short. When it's only 6 years, we're constantly facing political competition. Six years isn't enough," said Robi Darwis, the Village Head of Poja, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), speaking in front of the DPR building, as quoted by *Kompas.com* on Tuesday (17/1/2023).

The political competition Robi Darwis referred to involves parties who initially partnered with the village head becoming unwilling to cooperate as the village head's term nears its end.

The Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (Mendes PDTT), Abdul Halim Iskandar, also supports extending the village head's term to 9 years in a single period, with the possibility of re-election for a second term.

Halim stated that he has prepared an academic study on this matter. He believes that an extended term is necessary because the performance of village heads has been less effective due to their preoccupation with resolving conflicts that consistently arise after village head elections.

According to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), Indonesia had 84,096 villages/urban villages in 2021.

In 2021, Central Java had 8,562 villages/urban villages, the most among all provinces. This was followed by East Java with 8,496 villages/urban villages, Aceh with 6,514 villages/urban villages, and North Sumatra with 6,132 villages/urban villages.