Heru Widodo, legal counsel of the Petitioners of the Constitutional Court Case No. /PUU-XVI/2018, on the judicial review of Law Number 7 of 2017 regarding General Elections (Election Law), Monday (23/7) in the Courtroom of the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.

The petition for judicial review of Law No. 7/2017 on General Elections (Election Law) filed by Erik Fitriadi, member of Bogor Regency KPU, along with other Petitioners was finally granted by the Constitutional Court (MK) in part. "The verdict heard, grants the Petitioners\' petition in part," said Chief Justice Anwar Usman on Case No. 31/PUU-XVI/2018 at the ruling hearing on Monday (23/7). 

Previously, the Petitioners argued that the declaration of 3 (three) or 5 (five) members of the regency/municipality General Elections Commission (KPU) and 3 (three) members of District Election Committee (PPK) did not consider Indonesia\'s geographical diversity, especially the Central and Eastern parts of Indonesia, which comprise of thousands of islands and mountains with varying levels of access; some electoral regions being weather-dependent, some cannot be reached on land, and some can only be reached on foot. According to the Petitioners, restrictions and prohibitions on candidate members of the central, provincial, or regency/municipality General Elections Commission (KPU) elect to resign from the management of legal entity and non-legal entity mass organizations are also harmful and contrary to the principles of human rights. 

In its opinion, the Court stated that the determination of number of election personnel is the legislator\'s policy. The Court is of the opinion that the constitutionality of such a matter cannot be assessed. However, since the beginning the Court had affirmed, and reiterated in its verdict, that a legal policy can only be justified as long as it does not violate morality, rationality, and justice. 

"So, in the a quo issue, the legislator\'s policy of reducing the number of regency/municipality KPU members to three people obviously violates the principle of rationality. Therefore, there is no doubt for the Court to state that reducing the number of regency/municipality KPU members in several districts and cities to three with the increasing workload of election commission, including the 2019 presidential election, is something irrational," Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat explained while reading the opinion of the Court. 

In addition, the Court is of the opinion that the Elucidation to Article 10 paragraph (1) letter c of the Election Law, which explains the calculation basis for the number of regency/municipality KPU members as three or five people on a conditional basis, can only be assessed constitutionally as long as it is interpreted as five people. Therefore, the argument of the Petitioners that the Elucidation to Article 10 paragraph (1) letter c of the Election Law is contradictory to Article 22E paragraph (1) and Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution is reasonable according to law. 

At the same hearing, the Constitutional Court also granted the petition for the Election Law petitioned by the Head of the Aru Islands Regency Election Commission Victor Sjair in part. Such was the Constitutional Court\'s decisions read by Chief Justice Anwar Usman in the ruling hearing on Monday (23/7). 

With respect to Case No. 38/PUU-XVI/2018, the Court considers that Article 10 paragraph (3) of the Election Law along the phrase "The number of regency/municipality KPU members as referred to in Appendix 1 concerning the number of regency/municipality KPU members," the Court shall consider the Constitutional Court Decision No. 31/PUU-XVI/2018 dated July 23, 2018 stating that Article 10 paragraph (1) letter c of the Election Law is contradictory to the 1945 Constitution and has no binding legal force along the phrase "3 (three) or 5 (five ) people" not interpreted as "5 (five) people." Meanwhile, the Elucidation to Article 10 paragraph (1) letter c of the Election Law has been declared unconstitutional. 

"Thus, the number of regency/municipality KPU members should be interpreted as 5 (five) people. So, the phrase \'and the number of regency/municipality KPU members’ should be adjusted to the number as intended in the Decision of the Constitutional Court Number 31/PUU-XVI/2018," said Constitutional Justice Wahiduddin Adams reading the Court\'s considerations. (Nano Tresna Arfana/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)