Chairperson of the PDIP Ideology and Cadre Division Muhammad Idam Samawi delivering an address and closing the Technical Assistance Program of the 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on Wednesday (28/11/2018) at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, Cisarua, Bogor. Photo by Humas MK/ Hendy.

The Constitutional Court welcomed continued partnership with the functionaries of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to improve understanding of the Constitution, said Head of the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center Budi Achmad Djohari during the closing ceremony of the Technical Assistance Program of the 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) on Wednesday evening (28/11/2018).

Budi said that the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center hopes to collaborate with various elements of society to improve understanding of fundamental rights of citizens that are guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution.

Head of the PDIP Ideology and Cadre Division Muhammad Idam Samawi said that when conducting simulations of the first concurrent legislative and presidential elections in 73 years, he found complex variables. He also predicted numerous conflicts between contestants of the 2019 general elections as well as internally within a political party. He revealed that the non-concurrent 2014 Election resulted in 114 internal disputes within PDI-P. He also mentioned that margin of error at the lowest level during elections could reach over 60 percent, thus he saw the collaboration between the Constitutional Court and the PDI-P through this activity as highly strategic.

Procedural Law of the Constitutional Court 

Substitute Registrar Mardian Wibowo who presented “Procedural Law of 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution” said that the participants could be petitioners or relevant parties in the 2019 elections results dispute cases. The object would be the Respondent’s decision on the declaration of vote recapitulation of House of Representatives (DPR) and Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) candidates nationally, which affect the seats obtained by the Respondent or the selection of House or DPRD candidates. He also explained that in case of internal party dispute, individual candidates may bring the case to the Constitutional Court by approval of the central executive board of the party.

Expert Staff of the Religious Ministry Janedjri M. Gaffar who presented “Constitutional Court as Guardian of Democracy” spoke about the common law system. "In this system there will be no institution called the Constitutional Court that stands separately from the Supreme Court. This is in line with the principle of equality before the law applied in the common law system. This is also in line with the equality before the law notion that does not recognize the judiciary, which carries out several cases separately," he said.

The common law system, he added, is different from the civil society system such as that implemented in Indonesia, in which the Constitutional Court is separate from the Supreme Court. "In relation to this, the existence of the Constitutional Court begins in countries that apply the common law system, not in a country that applies the civil law system," Janedjri said. 

The technical assistance program presented speakers who spoke on “Techniques of Drafting Petitioner’s Petition in the 2019 DPR, DPD, and DPRD Election Results Dispute Resolution,” “Techniques of Drafting Statement of Relevant Party in the 2019 DPR, DPD, and DPRD Election Results Dispute Resolution,” “IT and Communication-Based 2019 DPR, DPD, and DPRD Election Results Dispute Resolution,” and “Presentation of Petition and Statement of Relevant Party in the 2019 DPR, DPD, and DPRD Election Results Dispute Resolution.” (Nano Tresna Arfana/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)