Friday, May 28, 2021 | 05:20 WIB
Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih showing a circular letter to one of the representatives of Labuhanbatu Bawaslu at an evidentiary hearing of Labuhanbatu election dispute, Thursday (27/05/2021). Photo by Humas MK/Bayu.
JAKARTA, Public Relations—Pursuant to Article 56 of Law No. 10 of 2016 (Pilkada Law), voters who have more than one residence must list the domicile that is shown on their e-KTP (electronic resident ID card). However, in practice, many citizens disregard this. The discrepancy may result in them denied voting at the TPS (polling station). Judging from this, e-KTP is a prerequisite for voters, said Bambang Eka Cahya Widodo, an expert for the 2020 Labuhanbatu Regency election Candidate Pair No. 3 Andi Suhaimi Dalimunthe-Faizal Amri Siregar (Petitioner), at the third hearing of the 2020 Labuhanbatu regent-vice regent election post-Constitutional Court decision on Thursday, May 27, 2021 in the panel courtroom.
in his testimony for case No. 141/PHP.BUP-XIX/2021, Bambang explained that e-KTP is an important, mandatory identification for voters during voting. It fulfills a strategic function in voting at TPS.
“The e-KTP is an identification to verify whether one really comes to a predetermined TPS. The Disdukcapil-issued KTP is crucial in filtering whether one has the right [to vote] at a certain TPS, since the voting invitation only contains the name listed in the DPT [final voters list]. With the voter’s data and photo, [the verification] will be stricter,” he said before Deputy Chief Justice Aswanto (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Suhartoyo and Enny Nurbaningsih.
Often Not Updated
Bambang said no such requirement exist in the KPU (General Elections Commission) Regulation for KK (family card) because it is often not updated. In addition, KK doesn’t include photos and cannot be used to verify whether the person carrying the voting invitation is the person listed in it.
Importance of Accuracy
At the hearing, Asep Warlan Yusuf testified as an expert for the Labuhanbatu Regency KPU (Respondent). He explained that the general and regional head elections must be rely on accuracy because it could lead to the invalidity of the legal product that is generated.
“Therefore, [accuracy] is important because it relates to two important things: process and substance. In terms of process, it means being accurate and prudent because there are impacts otherwise. In terms of substance, it affects the decision. It means that the substance must be correct, precise, accurate. Otherwise, there will be consequences,” he said.
Asep also conveyed his views on Article 112 paragraph (2) letter e of the Pilkada Law that a revote (PSU) can be carried out in case of damaged ballots, double voting, and unlisted voters. Those who are eligible to vote and are listed can show their IDs as shown in the KK for verification.
“So, this is not just about using the right to vote, but there is the fact whether it is valid or not. So, in validating IDs such as e-KTP and KK, there are measured things,” he explained.
Also read: Allegation of Violations Made Against Labuhanbatu Revote Results
Used by Others
Next, witnesses Sari, Rendi, and Yarham testified for the Petitioner. Sari admitted to not using her right to vote on the revote in April. However, her ID was used by another party who used a KK with her name on it.
“I didn’t vote in the revote. I already moved to North Labuhanbatu since 2016. According to Siduan, my former neighbor at [my] old kampong, [my] KK was used by the wife of Suparno, who was [my ex-husband],” she said virtually.
Significance of Vote Acquisition
Meanwhile, Maruarar Siahaan, an expert for the Relevant Party, said that the revote was in a small scale and simple, so issues could be dealt with in a simple manner. However, in the 2020 pilkada (regional head election), revote issues were complex because the Constitutional Court has provisions through its interlocutory decisions, which are different from general courts. Therefore, now pilkada cases have become new cases although they cannot be separated from the previous cases regarding the same elections.
“However, in [my] opinion, the Petitioner’s petition doesn’t show the significance of the accurate vote acquisition. Therefore, because it doesn’t show the accurate vote tabulation and its arguments, it didn’t show the procedure that was allegedly violated. Consequently, the Court can easily see whether the argument presented affects the [candidate pairs’] vote acquisition or not,” he explained.
Ethical Violation
Labuhanbatu Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body) reported on the incidents occurring during the revote, where voters used KK to vote. Twelve reports on this were registered as two cases, which were then examined. The first case involved 5 voters at TPS 7 of Bakaran Batu. Bawaslu had invited the KPPS (polling station working committee) to clarify this, but the KPPS didn’t come. They then reported this as an ethical violation, to which the KPU issued a penalty of rehabilitation to the offenders. The second case has been relayed to the DKPP (Election Organizer Ethics Council) because it concerns an ID card of a witness for Candidate Pair No. 1 where the voting day was listed as April 24, 2020. The KPU admitted this as their negligence. This case is still being processed by the DKPP.
Next, the Respondent’s witnesses Purnama Manurung, Saripudin Nur Nasution, and Hamdan Nauli testified on the revote at 7 TPSs. The Relevant Party’s witnesses Abdul Haris, Muhammad Ridwan, and Slamet Riyadi testified next.
Also read: Court Orders Delay of Administrative Acts on Labuhanbatu Regent-Elect
The Petitioner requested the annulment of the Labuhanbatu Regency KPU Decree No. 64/PL.02.6-Kpt/1210/KPU-Kab/IV/2021 on the certification of the revote recapitulation of the 2020 Labuhanbatu regent-vice regent election dated April 27, 2021 at 12:15 WIB. The Petitioner asserted that despite the Court-ordered revote (PSU), violations kept occurring and put them at disadvantage. Therefore, they requested that the Court order another revote at 7 TPSs: TPS 5, TPS 9, and TPS 10 of Bakaran Batu Village, South Rantau Subdistrict; TPS 9 and TPS 17 of Siringo-ringo Village, North Rantau Subdistrict; and TPS 14 of Negeri Lama Village, Bilah Hilir Subdistrict.
Writer : Sri Pujianti
Editor : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR : Fitri Yuliana
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 5/28/2021 13:26 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.
Friday, May 28, 2021 | 05:20 WIB 340