Petitioner: President Candidate’s Determination Rules Contrary to the People’s Sovereignty Principle

Preliminary hearing on judicial review of Act 42/2008 on the Election of President and Vice-President - Case No. 4/PUU-XI/2013 - held by the Constitutional Court (MK) on Monday (14/1) morning. The applicant is Sri Sudarjo as President of the Institute of Independent People’s Government Committee.

Petitioner argues, election presidential and vice-president of Indonesia has been very opposed to the principle of popular sovereignty that only regulated by a small elite with the percentage system.

"This led to the massive manipulation of the popular vote as well as the potential to cause conscious masses not to vote and abstentions made a political choice," said the applicant told the judges of the Constitution.

It is said applicant, legal norms President Presidential Election Law Article 1 (2), Article 9. Article 10 paragraph (1), Article 14 paragraph (2) is due to legal norms that discriminate against Petitioner’s constitutional rights and should be declared unconstitutional.

In the Presidential Election Law, Article 1, paragraph (2) stated, "The Party is a political party that has been designated as a participant elections, members of the House of Representatives." Chapter 9, "A pair of candidates nominated by political parties and coalitions of political parties contesting the election are eligible seats at least 20% of the total seats in the House before the election the president and vice president. "

Article 10 paragraphs (1) said, "Determination of candidates for president and / or vice-presidential candidate and open democratic manner in accordance with the internal mechanisms of the political party concerned." Of Article 14 paragraph (2), "registration period referred to in Article 13, the longest seven days from the determination of the national members of parliament election results."

Petitioner continued, the president and vice president is a manifestation of the sovereignty of the people who were not born of the conspiracy, manipulation, conspiracy elite on behalf of Parliament. However the House of Representatives is not a sovereign entity that acts, done by the spirit of the people and for the people that Parliament is currently acting never oppressed indigenous people, oppressed workers, the oppressed, the poor in urban and agricultural laborers.

"Parliament is now more of an extension of imperialism and has become a killing machine against the people of Indonesia. If we look historically, not Parliament that gave birth to the Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, but the House was the one who made the Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, "said the applicant.

It is, further Petitioner can be seen from the history of Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution came from the Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence (PPKI) is a committee in charge of preparing for the independence of Indonesia.

"Before the committee was formed, it has stood BPUPKI. But because it was considered too fast to implement the proclamation of independence, the Japanese dissolve and form PPKI on August 7, 1945, led Ir. Sukarno," said the Applicant. (Nano Tresna Arfana / mh)


Tuesday, January 29, 2013 | 19:00 WIB 114