<![CDATA[Abstract Democracy in Indonesia is rooted in the principle of popular sovereignty as affirmed in the 1945 Constitution. This principle applies not only at the national level, but also at the village government level, including in the mechanism of Interim Village Head Elections (PAW). PAW is a solution to the vacancy of the Village Head position that occurs before the term ends, as regulated in Permendagri No. 66/2017. However, this mechanism raises various problems, especially related to the legitimacy of the election results due to limited community participation and aspects of legal certainty because the regulation is only based on ministerial regulations. The non-involvement of the entire village community in the voting process through the representative deliberation mechanism raises debates regarding transparency, accountability, and the potential for undemocratic practices. In addition, the absence of a legal basis in the form of a law causes differences in implementation in various regions and potential legal instability. This research uses normative juridical methods with statutory, conceptual, and sociological approaches to analyze the constitutionality of PAW and the urgency of regulatory reformulation to have higher legal certainty. The results of the research are expected to provide recommendations in strengthening the PAW mechanism to be more democratic, transparent, and in accordance with the principles of popular sovereignty guaranteed in the constitution. Key words: Democracy, Popular Sovereignty, Interim Village Head Election, Constitutionality, Regulatory Reform. Abstrak Demokrasi di Indonesia berakar pada prinsip kedaulatan rakyat sebagaimana ditegaskan dalam UUD NRI 1945. Prinsip ini tidak hanya berlaku dalam lingkup nasional, tetapi juga mencakup tingkat pemerintahan desa, termasuk dalam mekanisme Pemilihan Kepala Desa Antar Waktu (PAW). PAW merupakan solusi atas kekosongan jabatan Kepala Desa yang terjadi sebelum masa jabatan berakhir, sebagaimana diatur dalam Permendagri No. 66 Tahun 2017. Namun, mekanisme ini menimbulkan berbagai permasalahan, terutama terkait legitimasi hasil pemilihan akibat keterbatasan partisipasi masyarakat serta aspek kepastian hukum karena regulasinya hanya berbasis peraturan menteri. Ketidakterlibatan seluruh masyarakat desa dalam proses pemungutan suara melalui mekanisme musyawarah perwakilan menimbulkan perdebatan terkait transparansi, akuntabilitas, serta potensi praktik yang tidak demokratis. Selain itu, ketiadaan dasar hukum dalam bentuk undang-undang menyebabkan perbedaan implementasi di berbagai daerah serta potensi instabilitas hukum. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode yuridis normatif dengan pendekatan perundang-undangan, konseptual, dan sosiologis untuk menganalisis konstitusionalitas PAW serta urgensi reformulasi regulasi agar memiliki kepastian hukum yang lebih tinggi. Hasil penelitian diharapkan dapat memberikan rekomendasi dalam memperkuat mekanisme PAW agar lebih demokratis, transparan, dan sesuai dengan prinsip kedaulatan rakyat yang dijamin dalam konstitusi Kata kunci: Demokrasi, Kedaulatan Rakyat, Pemilihan Kepala Desa Antar Waktu, Konstitusionalitas, Reformulasi Regulasi.]]>
