<![CDATA[The transitional policy towards the 2024 National Simultaneous Regional Elections (Pilkada) has resulted in a massive vacuum of definitive regional head positions, which are subsequently filled by Acting Regional Heads (Penjabat Kepala Daerah). A constitutional problematic arises when the central government appoints active military (TNI) and police (Polri) officers as Acting Regional Heads. This study aims to examine the legal validity of appointing active TNI/Polri officers as Acting Regional Heads from the perspectives of civilian supremacy, institutional neutrality, and the principle of local democracy. This study utilizes a normative legal research method with a statute approach and a conceptual approach. The results demonstrate that, first, the appointment of active TNI/Polri officers as Acting Regional Heads constitutes an abuse of executive discretion (detournement de pouvoir) that violates the imperative norms of Article 47 paragraph (1) of Law Number 34 of 2004 concerning the TNI and Article 28 paragraph (3) of Law Number 2 of 2002 concerning the Polri. Second, such top-down policy severely degrades the principle of local democracy mandated by Article 18 paragraph (4) of the 1945 Constitution, distorts constitutional accountability, and disobeys the mandate of the Constitutional Court Decision Number 15/PUU-XX/2022, which requires a transparent and democratic mechanism. This research recommends the immediate enactment of a specific Government Regulation (PP) regarding the appointment procedures for Acting Regional Heads, which strictly prohibits the involvement of active military/police apparatus to preserve the purity of local democracy and the neutrality of state apparatus.]]>
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