Surabaya City Regional House of Representatives

During the Dutch East Indies period, Surabaya's city council was established on 1 April 1906 following a 1903 decentralization law. The council had 21 seats – 8 were European officials appointed by the colonial government, 7 were to be elected Europeans, 5 were appointed Native Indonesian officials, and another 3 were assigned to leaders of Chinese and Arab communities. The first members of the council were appointees, with the first election in 1909 being held for the 7 elected European legislators. The 1909 election had a registered electorate of just 1,398 Europeans (Surabaya's total population in 1905 was around 150,000[1]), with a turnout of around 25 percent.[2] While the council was intended to be led by the burgemeester (mayor), one would not be elected until 1916, and thus the council was led by the assistant to the Resident of Soerabaja. The legislature was based from the Resident's office until 1923, when it moved to a purpose-built city hall.[2] It would remain there until 2020, when the legislature moved to a new building next to the city hall.[3]

After the end of the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, Indonesian nationalists formed a 30-member "Indonesian National Committee" (Komite Nasional Indonesia/KNI) on 28 August 1945, with Doel Arnowo as chairman. The KNI only lasted for several months, until the Indonesian government in Surabaya escaped the city following the Battle of Surabaya.[4] After Surabaya returned to Indonesian control after the handover of sovereignty, a Provisional Regional House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah Sementara/DPRDS) was formed on 4 December 1950 and its appointed members sworn in on 7 December 1950.[5] It initially had 25 members, but this was later increased to 30.[6] The first Indonesian election for the legislature was held in 1957, with a repeat election in February 1958. The Indonesian Communist Party won 17 out of 35 seats in the council after the elections.[7] The next election would be held in 1971, after the transition to the New Order, electing 33 legislators in addition to 6 armed forces representatives.[8]

As of the 2019 election, the council has 50 elected members, with 5 electoral districts.[9] The current speaker is Adi Sutarwijono of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, holding the position since 24 August 2019.[10]