In 1948, the government enacted the Law No. 22 of 1948, which mandated the form of local governments which included Regional Houses of Representatives with elected members and had the authority to elect members of a Regional Leadership Council, which included the regional leader. Government regulations No. 36 and 39 in 1950 initially arranged the election process for DPRD, until superseded by the Law No. 19 of 1956.

Local legislatures were established in the early 1950s, although they were replaced by transitional DPRD in 1956. Elections were held in 1957 and 1958