Reasons Why Most Indonesian Citizens Disapprove of Extending Village Head Terms, According to Kompas Research and Development

The Indonesian House of Representatives' Legislation Body (Baleg) has agreed to extend the term of village heads from six years for three terms to nine years for two terms.

This agreement was discussed in a Baleg working committee meeting on July 3, 2023. The majority of factions also approved the revised draft of the Village Law before discussing it with the government.

So, what is public opinion on this issue?

According to a survey conducted by *Kompas* Research and Development (Litbang), a majority, or 65.2%, of respondents disagreed with extending the term of village heads to nine years.

The main reason for public rejection was the perceived risk of corruption and other forms of malfeasance in village governance, cited by 60.5% of respondents.

Poor performance by current village officials was the next most common reason, cited by 18.2% of respondents.

*Kompas* Litbang noted that the emergence of this discourse has raised questions, particularly as discussions of extending village head terms intensified in the run-up to the 2024 general election.

"Unsurprisingly, about 10% of the respondents who rejected the extension of the village head's term worried that this policy could be politicized for electoral gain in the upcoming election," wrote *Kompas* Litbang in its report.

Meanwhile, 8.8% of respondents gave other reasons for their rejection, and 2.4% responded "don't know."

The survey involved 509 randomly selected respondents from 34 provinces in Indonesia.

Data was collected from February 22-24, 2023, using telephone interviews. The margin of error is approximately 4.35%, with a 95% confidence level.

(See also: Kompas Litbang Survey: 48% of the Public Are Dissatisfied with the Performance of the Attorney General's Office)