Head of the Sub-directorate of Political, Legal, and Security of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Purwoko giving statement representing the Government in the judicial review of the Election Law, Wednesday 9/1) in the Courtroom of the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Ganie.

The reduction of District/Municipal Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Agency) members from five to three is one of the Government’s efforts for the efficiency of election funding. With the reduction, the Government expects that the state budget (APBN) can be prioritized for other funds. This was conveyed by the Head of the Sub-directorate of Political, Legal, and Security of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Purwoko when delivering the Government’s statement in the judicial review of Article 92 paragraph (2) letter c along the phrase “3 (three) or 5 (five) persons” in Law Number 7 of 2017 on General Elections on Monday (9/1/2019) in the Plenary Courtroom of the Constitutional Court.

Related to case No. 93/PUU-XVI/2018, Purwoko explained that Article 22E of the 1945 Constitution, as a reference in the judicial review, does not specify that the members of District/Municipal Bawaslu are five people. “This is because the arrangement is an open legal policy,” Purwoko affirmed in response to the case filed by entrepreneurs Palaloi, Abdul Rasyid, Sitefano Gulo, and Alex and student Melianus Laoli.

Purwoko added that if the membership was changed in the future to five persons, the change must go through a revision of the regulation, and not through judicial review at the Constitutional Court. In relation to the Petitioners’ claim that the membership of District/Municipal Bawaslu be three persons leading to hindrance in the implementation of the elections, the Petitioners must first understand the meaning of the unconstitutionality of norm.

“The Petitioners’ concern is a matter of implementation of norm and not a mistake or a contradiction between the norm and 1945 Constitution. So, the Constitutional Court is not authorized to hear the case and the a quo petition is supposed to be rejected,” said Purwoko before the hearing led by Chief Justice Anwar Usman in the presence of the other eight constitutional justices.

In the previous session, the Petitioners conveyed that elections of integrity and dignity will not take place optimally considering there are only five organizing members to only three Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Agency) members in carrying out the elections. The addition of personnel is necessary to balance the personnel or members of the District/Municipal Bawaslu in supervisory in order to achieve democratic elections. In addition, according to Mustafa, in the implementation of the 2019 Elections Bawaslu will have a lot of workload and meet complex issues so there is concern that election-related violations will be on District/Municipal Bawaslu.  Therefore, in the petitum, the Petitioners requested the Court to declare the a quo article along with the elucidation and attachment to the phrase "3 (three) or 5 (five) people" contrary to the 1945 Constitution and not have binding legal force insofar as it is not interpreted as 5 (five) people. (Sri Pujianti/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)