AH Wakil Kamal as legal counsel for the Petitioners, Candidate Pair for Governor and Deputy Governor Abdul Gani Kasuba-M Al Yasin Ali, presenting the points of the North Maluku Governor Election Dispute case on Thursday (26/7) in the Plenary Courtroom of the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Ganie.

The Constitutional Court (MK) held a preliminary hearing on the dispute over North Maluku Governor Election on Thursday (26/7). The case No. 36/PHP.GUB-XVI/2018 was submitted by the Governor and Deputy Governor Candidate Pair Abdul Gani Kasuba-M Al Yasin Ali.

The Petitioners, represented by AH Wakil Kamal, requested that the Court disqualify Candidate Pair Number 1, Ahmad Hidayat Mus-Rivai Umar. The Petitioners also requested that a re-voting be held due suspicion that the North Maluku Regional Head Election was rife with fraud.

"The Petitioners suspected that the Candidate Pair Number 1 had cheated. The Court should disqualify Candidate Pair Number 1 and we request that the election be repeated," he said in the hearing led by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat.

In addition, the Petitioners stated that Candidate Pair Number 1 repeatedly committed fraud in the previous elections. Ahmad Hidayat Mus was previously Sula Islands Regent for two terms. Kamal spoke of fraud in the 2013 elections that included money politics, transfer of State Civil Servants (ASN), and manipulation of voting data.

There was also removal of witnesses of other candidate pairs. "The current cheating is similar, only more subtle. There are still intimidation, removal, and violence toward witnesses, and not giving C1 to our witnesses," said Kamal.

The Petitioners received 169,123 votes, while Ahmad Hidayat Mus-Rivai Umar received 176,993 votes. Referring to Article 158 paragraph (1) letter a of Law No. 10/2016, Kamal said that his petition could be processed in the Constitutional Court.

In the same hearing, the Constitutional Court tried the election dispute over the Southwest Sumba Regent and Deputy Regent. Markus Dairu Talu-Gerson Tanggu Dendo as the Petitioners challenged the issue of abnormal number of DPT (final voters), unsealed ballot box, broken padlock, opened envelope, and C-1 KWK absent in the ballot box.

Meanwhile, in hearing of dispute over the Election of Regent and Deputy Regent of Biak Numfor, the pair Nichodemus Ronsumbre-Achmad Bachri Hi Kalabe disputed the winners, Herry Ario Naap-Nehemia Wospakrik. The Petitioners claimed that while serving as Acting Regional Head, the Relevant Party transferred, appointed, and dismissed state civil apparatus (ASN), even though according to the Ministry of Home Affairs letter dated November 12, 2017 this is prohibited. (ARS/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)