Another material judicial review hearing of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections to hear the House of Representatives, Wednesday (1/12/2022). Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.

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Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | 15:25 WIB

JAKARTA, Public Relations—The final and binding DKPP’s (Election Organizer Ethics Council) decisions as stated in Article 458 paragraph (13) of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections cannot be compared to those of the courts in general, because the DKPP is not a judicial institution, said member of the Commission III of the House of Representatives (DPR) Arteria Dahlan Santoso at a material judicial review hearing of the Election Law for case No. 32/PUU-XIX/2021 on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 to hear the House.

Also read: KPU Members Question the Constitutionality of DKPP Decision’s Finality and Binding Nature

In his testimony, he said that the final and binding nature must be interpreted to apply to the president; the central, provincial, and regency/city KPU (General Elections Commission), and Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body) in implementing the DKPP decisions.

“Although the DKPP decisions are final and binding, they must be followed up on and a legal product must be made in the form of a [state administrative] official’s decree that is concrete, individual, and final, which can be an object in the [state administrative] court,” he said at the hearing chaired by Chief Justice Anwar Usman.

Also read:

Govt: Final and Binding Nature of DKPP Decisions Unlike Judicial Bodies

Expert: DKPP an Election Supervisory Body, Not a Judicial Body

Arteria added that the implications of the DKPP’s decisions cannot be executed, but the decisions must be followed up on by other election organizers—the KPU and Bawaslu. Meanwhile, the KPU’s and Bawaslu’s decisions to dismiss or discharge their members and discharge due to the DKPP’s decisions can be brought to a court. That way, if the KPU or Bawaslu issues a letter to discharge its members due to a decision by the DKPP, any party harmed by the KPU’s or Bawaslu’s decision can petition the DKPP’s decision to the state administrative court (PTUN). “The KPU’s or Bawaslu’s decisions that follow up on the DKPP’s decisions can be challenged in the PTUN,” he stressed.

He also said that before issuing a decision, the DKPP go through several steps, first assessing the matter pursuant to Articles 458-459 of the Election Law, as regulated in Article 159 paragraph (2) in conjunction with Article 458 paragraph (10) of the Election Law. This include researching or verifying the complaint, hearing the defense, and examining other evidence in casu the Petitioner has had the opportunity to defend themselves in the DKPP’s investigation.

Also read: Final and Binding Nature or DKPP Decisions Abolishes Corrective Measure by PTUN

Evi (Petitioner I) revealed that she had been dismissed by the DKPP through the DKPP Decision No. 317-PKEDKPP/X/2019 dated March 18, 2020, followed up by the Presidential Decree (Keppres) No. 34/P of 2020 on the Dishonorable Discharge of KPU Members for the 2017-2022 Term dated March 23, 2020. Although the State Administrative Court (PTUN) had granted her suit in Decision No. 82/G/2020/PTUN-JKT dated July 23, 2020 and annulled the Keppres No. 34/P of 2020—resulting in Petitioner I returning as a KPU member for the 2017-2022 term—the DKPP didn’t acknowledge it.

Therefore, the Petitioners requested that the Court declare the provisions of Article 14 letter m, Article 17 letter m, Article 20 letter m, Article 38 paragraph (4), Article 93 letter g point 1, Article 97 letter e point 1, Article 101 letter e point 1, Article 105 letter e point 1, Article 137 paragraph (1), Article 159 paragraph (3) letter d, Article 458 paragraphs (5), (10), (11), and (14), as well as Article 459 paragraph (5) of the Election Law along the phrase ‘decision’ conditionally constitutional insofar as it be interpreted as ‘decree’ that can be appealed in PTUN.

Writer        : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR            : M. Halim
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 01/13/2022 11:16 WIB

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

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