Chief Justice Anwar Usman and Peradi DPN Chairman Fauzi Hasibuan with Peradi Secretary General Thomas Tampubolon. Photo by Humas MK/Dedy.

Democracy in Indonesia continues to change and develop. Since Indonesia\'s independence, several electoral systems and democracy have been implemented. However, surely the systems must be updated and evaluated following the times. This was conveyed by Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Anwar Usman in the Technical Assistance Program of the 2019 Elections Results Dispute Resolution as part of collaboration between the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center of the Constitutional Court and the Indonesian Advocates Association (Peradi) in Jakarta (15/3/2019).

In his keynote address, Justice Anwar explained that the 2019 Simultaneous Elections is a novelty for the Constitutional Court, even for Indonesia. Therefore, it can be ascertained there will be intense competition between election participants. Potentially, many cases will go to the Constitutional Court. “Simultaneous elections aim at strengthening the presidential system according to the constitutional design embraced by the 1945 Constitution after amendments. In addition, the implementation of the simultaneous presidential and legislative elections is expected to create efficiency in several ways, including budget and time," he explained.

According to Justice Anwar, this technical assistance activity can be interpreted as part of fairness and equal treatment of the Constitutional Court to all stakeholders in holding the elections, so that the elections can run smoothly. "The advocates are part of law enforcement; that is why I feel the need to speak here. And it must be understood that the development has also given rise to high complexity of system. These problems are not only in the electoral process, but also related to dispute resolution after vote recapitulation is done," he added.

Concluding his address, Justice Anwar hoped that the activity will be optimally used by the participants to achieve togetherness in guarding the simultaneous general election process in accordance with the principles stated in the Constitution and existing regulations. (Ddy/LA/Yuniar Widiastuti)