Photo session with the Head of Pancasila and Constitution Education Center Budi Achmad Djohari, KPU Chairman Arief Budiman, participant, Court Registrar Kasianur Sidauruk (left to right) after the opening of Technical Assistance Program on the Procedural Law of the 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution for KPU, all-Indonesia Provincial and District/Municipal KPU Class I on Monday (1/10) at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, Cisarua, Bogor. Photo by Humas MK/Hendy.

In preparation for the 2019 Elections, the Constitutional Court (MK) has compiled five new Constitutional Court Regulations (PMK), which have been adjusted to the new Election Law (Law Number 7 of 2017).

"The drafting of these Regulations is also adjusted to the needs and practices that have been carried out by the Constitutional Court in resolving previous general election disputes (PHPU) cases," said the Registrar Kasianur Sidauruk at the opening of "Technical Assistance Program on the Procedural Law of the 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution for KPU, all-Indonesia Provincial and District/Municipal KPU Class I" on Monday (1/10/2018) at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, Cisarua, Bogor.

The subjects in the program are PMK on procedural law of the 2019 dispute resolution of DPR, DPD, DPRD, and president-vice president elections; mechanism, activities, and schedule of PHPU resolution; techniques of drafting petition, respondent’s response, and statement of relevant party in PHPU case.

Kasianur said that the Court’s authorities cannot resolve all electoral violations, as some of them might be criminal or administrative, which are under purview of other judicial institutions. He also stressed the role of other stakeholders in the elections as well as the election contestants.

KPU Chairman Arief Budiman said that the election organizers are not the only ones participating in the technical assistance program, but also election contestants and other individuals and institutions that will be involved in election result disputes. He appreciated the program, which allows stakeholders to resolve disagreements. “No more resolving disagreements in the streets [with violence],” Arief said before around 150 participants.

He further explained that regulations have provided spaces for disagreement resolution, either at the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu), the State Administrative High Court (PTUN), the district courts, and the Constitutional Court. “The disagreement resolution methods are important to be disclosed to stakeholders so that the understand how to prepare for the election result disputes,” he stressed.

Head of Pancasila and Constitution Education Center Budi Achmad Djohari said that he program is to raise awareness of procedure, mechanism, stages, and activities of the 2019 elections results dispute resolution that will involve election organizers such as KPU and Bawaslu, as well as political parties, DPD candidates, advocates, election observers, and so on.

“The first class of program is intended for central, provincial, and district/municipal KPU who will have an important role as the Respondent in the Constitutional Court hearings, and who provide response on the election result dispute petition,” he said.

The Technical Assistance Program on the Procedural Law of the 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution for KPU, all-Indonesia Provincial and District/Municipal KPU Class I takes place on October 1-3, 2019. 150 structural and functional central, provincial, and district/municipal KPU officials are attending the program. (Nano Tresna Arfana/NRA/Yuniar Widiastuti)