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Deputy Chief Aswanto giving symbolic award to participants of the 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution for the Great Movement Party (Gerindra) on Wednesday Rabu (14/11/2018) at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, Cisarua, Bogor. Photo by Humas MK/Hidayat Sabar.

Constitutional Court Deputy Chief Aswanto officially closed the 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution for the Great Movement Party (Gerindra) on Wednesday Rabu (14/11/2018) at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, Cisarua, Bogor.

At the closing ceremony, Deputy Chief Aswanto spoke of the meaning of the ballot box in the general elections, including the legislative and presidential elections. He said that the ballot box is the crown of elections. If it is opened not following procedure, a re-election must be done, if there is an issue with the vote results. To anticipate future electoral violations, the Constitutional Court declared no recapitulation shall be conducted in the village, hamlet, or polling station. “This is to maintain the purity of the votes,” said Justice Aswanto in the presence of the Head of the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center Budi Achmad Djohari and the General Secretary of the Legal Advocacy Agency Indonesia Raya of Gerindra Executive Board M. Said Bakhri

He also said that the Court determined that only political parties can file a petition on the 2019 election result dispute (PHPU). This means the party’s central executive board. Any legislative candidate wanting to file a petition will have to seek for permission from the chairperson and secretary of the party’s central executive board. “This provision was made so that we honor political parties, so that the cases registered will not be party’s internal issue, […] which should be resolved by the party,” he hoped.

Role of Political Parties

At the three-day technical assistance program (12-14/11/2018), Court researcher Pan Mohamad Faiz spoke about “The Constitutional Court and Constitutional System of Indonesia.” He said about the role of political parties in developing democracy, as the Constitutional Court is authorized to examine laws and dissolve political parties. Therefore, he hoped that the technical assistance program would help political parties understand the Court’s proceedings.

He added, before the Constitutional Court was established and in the early Independence, political parties were dissolved by the Government unilaterally. “Masyumi, PKI, PSI, Murba were dissolved by the Government unilaterally. Now it does not apply. To protect political parties, [the case] must be proved in the Constitutional Court,” he explained before 141 participants from 31 provinces, consisting of advocates and executive board members of Gerindra.

To deal with the 2019 Elections, the Constitutional Court must help resolve disputes among political parties or legislative candidates contesting the elections. Faiz said that since the reforms, 1,826 legislative election cases had been submitted, even though the legislative election had only been held since 2009. Out of that number, only 6-7% were granted.

"If political parties become Petitioners, they must be able to prove [structured, systematic, and massive violations]. Structured refers to the substance of violation. Systematic refers to a planned violation. Massif refers to a violation that is comprehensive, interrelated, but not sporadic. A key is that the violation significantly changes the vote results obtained by the Petitioners," Faiz explained.

Violations

Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) Comissioner Rahmat Bagja also delivered a presentation on the implementation and supervision of the elections. In dealing with cases since 2012, Bawaslu uses two methods in resolving disputes: mediation and adjudication. During mediation, Bawaslu handles a dispute internally, while adjudication is done openly in a series of hearings.

Violations and penalties are handled on stages. For example, violation in the form of not installing props correctly will result in revocation or dismissal, while inaccurate permit request (e.g. limited meeting but in reality a mass meeting) can result in the meeting being closed down by Bawaslu.

Time

In the three-day program, Court Registrar Kasianur Sidauruk and Junior Registrar Ida Ria Tambunan also shared their experience and insight on the procedure in election results dispute (PHPU). Ria highlighted the importance of time of petition submission. She also said that as the provisions on 2019 PHPU must be completed urgently, the Constitutional Court has been preparing hardworking, active, and speedy staff to help all litigants find justice.

Substitute Registrar Mardian Wibowo in his presentation on “The Techniques of Drafting Petition and Statement of Relevant Party” also explained how as an entry key, a petition must be effective so that the justices understand the petition.

IT-Based

In accordance with the Court’s mission to be modern, credible judiciary, the Court continues to improve to create IT-based facilities to accelerate and facilitate access case handling. Head of Infrastructure, Network, and Communication Division Mula Pospos said that the Court facilitates PHPU petitioners not only to come to the Court to submit a petition, but also through online facilities e.g. video conference at law faculties of nearby universities and applications to file a petition.

Participants will also practice drafting the Petitioner’s petition and the statement of the Relevant Party in the 2019 Election Results Dispute Resolution. (Sri Pujianti/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)

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