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The Fakfak Regency KPU’s attorney Petrus Paulus Ell reading out the Respondent’s response at the second hearing of the regency’s election results dispute, Monday (8/2/2021) in the Courtroom of the Constitutional Court. Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.

JAKARTA, Public Relations of the Constitutional Court—The Constitutional Court’s (MK) Panel II examined two regional head election (pilkada) results dispute cases in West Papua Province in the third session on Monday afternoon, February 8, 2021. The cases were No. 113/PHP.BUP-XIX/2021 for Fakfak Regency and No. 02/PHP.BUP-XIX/2021 for Kaimana Regency. The hearing was chaired by Chief Justice Anwar Usman, alongside Constitutional Justices Enny Nurbaningsih and Wahiduddin Adams.

At the preliminary hearing, Fakfak regent Candidate Pair No. 1 Samaun Dahlan-Clifford H. Ndandarmana requested the annulment of the Fakfak Regency General Elections Commission (KPU) Decree on the certification of the 2020 Fakfak Regency election vote counting recapitulation dated December 17, 2020 because they believe Candidate Pair No. 2 Untung Tamsil-Yohana Dina Hindom (Relevant Party) didn’t meet the requirements.

This second hearing started with Petrus Paulus Ell declaring on behalf of the Fakfak Regency KPU (Respondent) that the Petitioner didn’t have legal standing because the vote margin between the Petitioner and the Relevant Party exceeded the 2% threshold. Therefore, the Court doesn’t have the authority to examine the petition. The Respondent also explain the chronology of the cancellation of support for the Relevant Party. During application, the Relevant Party submitted 7,614 letters of support. However, during factual verification process by the Respondent, which was supervised by the regency’s Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body), 3,894 of those letters were invalidated.

“At the plenary recapitulation meeting on August 21, 2020 there was an appeal to inspect potential double voting, not double support as the Petitioner alleged. At the meeting, the KPU and Fakfak Bawaslu inspected the potential of 2,066 double support. After inspection using the SILON application, no double support that Bawaslu mentioned was found. Therefore, Bawaslu, the witnesses, and the KPU agreed on continuing the meeting by declaring the Relevant Party having met the requirement of a total 5,678 [letters of] support, which fulfilled the minimum requirement of an individual candidate,” Petrus said.

Furthermore, the Respondent also refuted the allegation of violations and misuse of e-KTP as well as online and offline letters of recommendation (suket) for the Relevant Party’s win. They dismissed the allegation and stated that they only issued 60 relocation letters for 17 districts and there was no recommendation from Bawaslu on the matter.

Next, the Relevant Party’s attorney Misbahuddin Gasma responded on the Petitioner’s statement regarding the Election Organizer Ethics Council (DPKK) Decree No. 97-PKE-DKPP/X/2020 dated December 16, 2020 on the report of violation of code of ethics leveled against Fakfak Regency Bawaslu members regarding the nomination of an individual candidate. He stressed that the decree was unrelated to the Relevant Party’s nomination because the informant’s issue against the reported (Fakfak Bawaslu chair and members) in said decree was regarding the individual candidates Cyrilius Adopak-Pegi Patipi and Donatus Nimbiykendik-Mustagfirin.

Meanwhile, the regency’s Bawaslu through Abdul Tanggi Irinawas testified that Bawaslu didn’t give any recommendation to the KPU and that the letter they sent to the KPU was merely a preventive measure. In the letter, they requested that the plenary recapitulation meeting regarding the individual candidates be delayed to ensure that potential double voting indications be checked using the KPU’s SILON system.

Also read: Alleged Violation in Fakfak, Kaimana, and Manokwari Regent Election

Election Officers Appointed through Test

At the same hearing, the justices also examined the case No. 02/PHP.BUP-XIX/2021 by Candidate Pair Rita Teurupun-Leonardo Syakema for Kaimana Regency. At the previous hearing, the Petitioner alleged that the regency’s KPU (Respondent), Bawaslu, and Candidate Pair No. 1 Freddy Thie-Hasbullah Furuada (Relevant Party) had committed structured, systematic, and massive (TSM) manipulation. The Respondent’s attorney Daniel Tonapa Masiku said the allegation wasn’t under the Court’s authority because it wasn’t related to vote acquisition. “It is under Bawaslu’s authority, not the Constitutional Court’s,” Masiku said.

The Petitioner also alleged that the Respondent, the district election committee (PPD), the polling committee (PPS), and the polling station working committee (KPPS) hadn’t been neutral. This was refuted by the Respondent, who stated that the PPD members were selected through the CAT (written test) and the candidate pairs and the local community didn’t object to their appointment. In addition, the appointment of the KPPS followed the KPU Regulation No. 13 of 2017 on the working procedure of the KPU and its ranks.

Next, the Relevant Party’s attorney Ahmad Matdoan said the petition exceeded the vote margin threshold of 2%, because the vote margin between the Petitioner and the Relevant Party was 2,445 votes or 8.67%. “Therefore, the Respondent believes the Petitioner didn’t have the legal standing to file the petition because [the vote margin] exceeds 2%, pursuant to the existing regulation. The Respondent would also like to add that the Petitioner didn’t at all object to the vote acquisition certified by the Respondent and didn’t mention their version. The Respondent believes the Petitioner’s allegations regarding administrative electoral violations and ASN [state civil apparatus] neutrality are under Bawaslu’s authority,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Kaimana Regency Bawaslu through Karolus Kopong Sabon gave a statement about campaign funding. The Petitioner believes the Respondent’s had forced the Petitioner’s campaign funding to follow the recommendation by Candidate Pair No. 1 Freddy Thie-Hasbullah Furuada. Bawaslu explained that the Respondent had coordinated with Bawaslu on the West Papua Province KPU’s letter regarding campaign funding. The Respondent clarified with Bawaslu and the candidate pairs that the limit of the funding was 30 billion rupiah. The KPU RI deemed the amount too high amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, based on the clarification and a joint revision on October 8, 2020, the Respondent determined the limit at 8 billion for each candidate pair.

Writer: Fuad Subhan
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari
Uploader: Fuad Subhan

Translator: Yuniar Widiastuti
Editor: R.A. Indah Apriyanti
Managing Editor: Budi Wijayanto

Translation uploaded on 02/09/2021 12:42 WIB

Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian version, the Indonesian version will prevail.

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