M. Nursal, legal counsel of the Petitioners, reading out the petition in the hearing of the Paniai District Regent and Deputy Regent Election Dispute on Tuesday (8/8) in the Courtroom of the Constitutional Court. Photos by Humas MK/Ifa.

The Constitutional Court (MK) held the preliminary hearing of the Paniai Regent and Deputy Regent Election Results Settlement (PHP) on Tuesday (8/8). The incumbent pair Hengky Kayame and Yeheskiel Tenouye filed a dispute petition because the Paniai District KPU did not carry out revote (PSU) in nine districts.

M. Nursal, legal counsel of the Petitioners, stated that Paniai District Election Supervisory Committee (Panwas) issued a recommendation ordering a revote in Aradide, Topiyai, Ekadide, Bogobaida, East Paniai, West Paniai, Kebo, Yagai, and Baya Biru Subdistricts. "However, the Respondent deliberately did not implement the Paniai District Panwas recommendation. This means that the vote recapitulation decision is legally flawed," he said on case No. 71/PHP.BUP-XVI/2018.

The Petitioners also argued that a revote would be an opportunity to change the vote count results. The Petitioners considered this would affect the vote margin of the Petitioners and Meki Nawipa-Oktopianus Gobay (Relevant Party). Moreover, the election system used is the noken in which voting is represented by the customary leader.

The vote margin between the Petitioners and the Relevant Party is 41,311 votes, where the Petitioners received 29,761 votes and the Relevant Party received 71,072 votes. "Actually, the Petitioners normally does not fulfill Article 158 paragraph (2) of Law No. 10 of 2016 juncto Article 7 paragraph (2) of PMK No. 5 of 2017 on the Guidelines for Election Dispute in the Constitutional Court. But because the revote has not been carried out, it cannot be subject to the a quo article," he said in the session led by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat. (Arif/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)