JAKARTA - Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has suggested scrapping one of the country's two nationwide elections to cut costs.

Indonesia, the world's third-largest democracy, currently votes for presidents and national and regional legislatures in one election and chooses mayors, governors and regents in another.

Prabowo late on Thursday suggested doing away with the second election and having regional legislatures choose mayors and governors instead, which he said would free up funds to spend on upgrades and meals for schools.

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"We feel the democracy that we have ... there are things that we need to fix together," he said in a speech at the congress of the Golkar Party.

"We have to ask ourselves, is the system," he said, referring to elections. "How many trillions spent in one or two days?"

Prabowo swept February's election with 58 percent of the votes in what was his third attempt at the presidency and quickly consolidated power by forming a parliamentary coalition that includes all but one political party.

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Prabowo's office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on whether he will formally propose ending regional elections. Such a move would mean an overhaul of election laws.