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Court Substitute Registrar Mardian Wibowo speaking at the 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution Technical Assistance for Regional Representatives Council (DPD) candidates and advocates all over Indonesia, Monday (11/02) in Bogor.

CISARUA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—The 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution Technical Assistance for Regional Representatives Council (DPD) candidates and advocates all over Indonesia took place on February 11-13, 2019. One of the presentations was on the procedure of the Constitutional Court, including on the proceedings in the Court for the 2019 Elections.

Junior Registrar Triyono Edy Budhiarto spoke about “Court Procedure in the Technical Assistance for the 2019 Dispute Resolution of Elections of Members of House of Representatives Regional (DPR), Legislative Council (DPRD), Regional Representatives Council (DPD), President, and Vice President,” He explained the roles of experts and witnesses in the electoral dispute resolution hearing. “Experts explain the issue according to their expertise. Experts may also explain norms in regulations. Meanwhile, witnesses only relay facts during the elections,” he elaborated.

Triyono Edy said that the litigants in the Constitutional Court must carefully select experts because of the high costs to present experts in the hearing. “Including selecting witnesses, [you] must be [highly] selective, selecting witnesses who really support your petition. Sometimes a litigant present a witness who is irrelevant to the petition,” he asserted.

He added that witnesses from outside of Jakarta would not necessarily have to come to the Court, because the Court provided video conference for remote hearing for those who living outside of Jakarta. The facility can be used during examination, preliminary, and verification hearings. “We [offer] video conference [facilities] in 42 universities in 34 provinces. So [you] would not have to come to the Court, because the Court seeks to facilitate justice seekers to litigate in the Constitutional Court so that not much costs is incurred,” he said.

Court Substitute Registrar Mardian Wibowo explained the procedure for filing a petition of the 2019 DPD election to the Court. “If the vote count recapitulation is still in the provincial level, do not file [a petition] just yet. Wait until after formal declaration by the Central KPU,” he said.

Next, Mardian explain the litigants—Petitioner(s), Respondent, Relevant Party, and the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu). “[You] may be either the Petitioner(s) or Respondent. However, if you are in the top four winner of the DPD election, you will be a Relevant Party in the petition,” he said.

Mardian also discussed the petition deadline of 3x24 hours, meaning that since the Central General Election Commission (KPU) declared and announced the results of DPD member elections, the petition can be filed. Then, there will be a waiting period of maximum 72 or 3x24 hours. Beyond that deadline, a petition is considered invalid.

The event also delivered presentations on “Information and Communication Technology-Based 2019 DPD Election Result Dispute Resolution” on the development of the 2019 electoral dispute case management; “2019 Elections Result Dispute Resolution Mechanism, Stages, and Activities” on the stages, activities, and schedule of the 2019 DPD Election Dispute Resolution, including the mechanism for the Petition’s petition filing, the Respondent’s response, and the statements by the Relevant Party and other parties; as well as “Techniques of Drafting Petition and Statement of Relevant Party in the 2019 DPD Election Dispute Resolution.”

After the presentations, the participants of the technical guidance practiced drafting the Petitioner’s petition and the statement of the Relevant Party in the 2019 DPD Election Dispute Resolution. 

Closing 

The 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution Technical Assistance for Regional Representatives Council (DPD) candidates and Indonesian advocates was officially closed by the Head of the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center, Budi Achmad Djohari on Wednesday (13/2/2019). Present at the closing was Head of the South Jakarta Branch Executive Board (DPC) of Peradi, Halomoan Sianturi.

"In law enforcement in Indonesia, there are essential things that are different from that in other countries. We have Pancasila as the basic philosophy and orientation of the establishment of an independent Indonesian state. As the basic values and fundamental conceptual paradigm in state administration, Pancasila was agreed upon by the founding fathers to be put into the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution," he explained. 

Budi said, even though the word \'Pancasila\' was not explicitly stated in the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution, the founding fathers and the Indonesian people agreed on the five values listed in paragraph 4 of the Preamble of the 1945 Constitution being the basic principles of the Indonesian state. 

"In relation to how we should rule, the five values must also be the foundation and be [channeled] in making and enforcing the law. Pancasila is a guide to our way of law, a guide in shaping and enforcing the law to be directed as much as possible for the creation of just legal certainty," said Budi. 

Budi emphasized that the law is not only an instrument to create state order, but must also be used to benefit legal justice for all Indonesian people. “That is the legal system of Pancasila, a system that is distinctively Indonesia. The Pancasila legal system has characters such as kinship and mutual cooperation, integrating justice, legal certainty, and the benefits of law for heterogeneous Indonesians. The Pancasila legal system requires justice to be the soul and moral of law enforcement. The noble morality conceived by Pancasila is an ethical commitment of the Indonesian nation that must be realized. Including carrying out law based on moral and noble characters. The Pancasila morality is what should be internalized in [our] conscience to keep law enforcers from all potential fraudulent behaviors,” he said. (Nano Tresna Arfana/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)

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