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The Constitutional Court annulled and stated legally not binding the Decision of North Tapanuli Election Commission No. 25/2008 about the Announcement of Elected Candidate for North Tapanuli Regent and Vice also the Recapitulation Result of North Tapanuli Election 2008 dated November 23, 2008; so long as the recapitulation result in 14 out of 15 Districts in North Tapanuli Regency was concerned. The decision was read out on Tuesday (16/12) at the Plenary Court Room of the Constitutional Court.

Those 14 Districts were, Pahae Julu District, Garoga District, Pagaran District, Siborong-borong District, Simangumban District, Parmonangan District, Pahae Jae District, Pangaribuan District, Sipahutar District, Sipoholon District, Adian Koting District, Siatas Barita District, Purba Tua District, and Tarutung District. Only one District that was free from the obligation to hold a re-voting, Muara District.

The Court, in Case No. 49/PHPU.D-VI/2008, also ordered the North Tapanuli Election Commission to hold the re-voting in North Tapanuli Regency, because they found serious and significant violations which affected the recapitulation result found legally and convincingly, as it also damaged the constitution, democracy, and the citizens rights as regulated in Article 18 paragraph (4) and Article 22E paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution, also other legislations, and it was not tolerated to happen in Republic of Indonesia as a law-based country.

The Court also ordered the Election Commission and the Election Watchers Committee in North Sumatra Province to guard the re-voting process according to their power so that the principles and the spirit of Regional Election, direct, general, open, secret, honest and fair could be upheld.

The Court in adjudicating cases about Regional Election generally, in casu the Election in North Tapanuli, did not only refer to the formal objects of the dispute, an sich as mentioned in Article 4 of the Constitutional Court Regulation No. 15/2008, instead the Court had to dig and find the legal truth and justice according to the evidences and the Justices belief.

“As an effort to realize the procedural justice and substantive justice, also the utilization principle for the sake of constitutional, legal, and democratic supremacy, The Court had examined all information from parties, written evidences, and witnesses in the previous trials according to the tasks and functions of the Court as The Guardian of the Constitution and Democracy, also the protector of human rights,” exclaimed the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Mahfud MD as he read the conclusion of the decision.

In the earlier trials, the Court found legal facts that in certain districts, clearly there had been serious and significant violations that affected the recapitulation result in form of.
 
1. Allowing double ID number without updating the database as regulated in Article 10 paragraph (3) letter f of Act No. 22/ 2007 about the Organizer of the General Election;

2. Allowing the distribution of 2.714 Invitation Letters Concerning the Time and the Location of the Vote Center or the invitation letter to cast a vote (Model C6-KWK); allowing the occurrences of money politics;

3. Allowing the voting done by unidentified people using four Toyota Kijang made cars (36 people according to Januari Hutauruk, 61 people according to Hotma Hutauruk) in Vote Center 3 in Hutauruk Hasundutan Village, Sipoholon District as the people cast their vote without having been called before and directly went to the election chambers in turn, 10 people in one go;

4. Not doing their obligation to announce the Elected Candidate a day after the recapitulation of the vote result done by the Petitionee, despite the reason that the case was brought to Court;

5. Negeri Tarutung concerning the violation not having a decision from the court with fixed legal power; and

6. Not taking any actions on the existence of 300 voters not coming from the related election area.

(Wiwik Budi Wasito)

Photo: Doc. MK PR/Wiwik BW

Translated by Yogi Djatnika / MK

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