The ruling hearing of the 2020 Yalimo Regency election results dispute hearing for case No. 145/PHP.BUP-XIX/2021, Thursday (3/10/2022). Photo by Humas MK/Ilham W. M.
Thursday, March 10, 2022 | 19:24 WIB
JAKARTA, Public Relations—The 2020 Yalimo Regency election results dispute filed by Lakius Peyon-Nahum Mabel came into a conclusion. The Constitutional Court (MK) ruled the petition inadmissible. The Decision No. 145/PHP.BUP-XIX/2021 was read out Thursday, March 10, 2022 in the plenary courtroom.
The Court’s verdict, read out by Chief Justice Anwar Usman, validated the KPU Decree No. 301/PL.02.7/9122/2022 on the Certification of the Revote Recapitulation Post-Constitutional Court Decision No. 145/PHP.BUP-XIX/2021 in the 2020 Yalimo Regency election, dated January 30, 2022. The Court also declared the valid vote acquisition for Candidate Pair No. 1 Nahor Nekwek-John W. Willi to be 48,504 votes while for Candidate Pair No. 2 Lakius Peyon-Nahum Mabel 41,548 votes.
“[The Court] orders the Respondent to certify Candidate Pair No. 1 Nahor Nekwek-John W. Willi as the elected candidate pair in the 2020 Yalimo Regency election,” said Justice Anwar before the Petitioners who, attended the hearing virtually.
Also read: Erdi Dabi Disqualified, Yalimo Regent Election Will Re-Voted Again
Different Characteristics
The Petitioners argued that the failure to hold a revote within 120 workdays after the voting was due to lack of funding. In its legal considerations read out by Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih, the Court asserted that the failure could not be blamed solely on the Respondent—the Yalimo Regency KPU (General Elections Commission)—because they did not have the authority to manage regional budget that would fund the revote and regional elections in general.
Justice Enny further said that the Petitioners had argued that the was no legal basis in any Constitutional Court decision regarding the delay. The Court stressed that the delay needed not any such a legal basis, as every case has different and special characteristics.
Also read: Lakius Peyon and Nahum Mabel Revealed the Violation on Yalimo Regent Election Re-Vote
Good Faith
Justice Enny added that the Yalimo Regency election dispute related to two petitions filed after an interlocutory decision. In the proceedings, the Respondent had reported the progress of the revote. The Court had even stressed that it would offer considerations and assessment while passing its ruling. However, it does not mean that the Court had allowed the Respondent to violate and disregard the deadline. The Court believed that the allocation of budget showed the Respondent’s good faith in holding the revote despite it passing the 120-workday deadline.
“Therefore, the Court assessed that the revote, which passed the 120-workday deadline and then took place on January 26, 2022, had been reported to the Court at a public hearing along with the case No. 153/PHP.BUP-XIX/2021, and the Court emphasized the validity of the revote results would be considered simultaneously in a final ruling,” Justice Enny read out.
Meanwhile, with regard to the Petitioners’ allegation of administrative and criminal violations, election organizers supervised by the Papua Provincial Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body) and Bawaslu RI ensured that the revote had run safely and smoothly without any violations. Therefore, the Court believed the implementation of revote by the Respondent under Bawaslu’s supervision had been in accordance with existing legislation and, this, it had no doubt to believe that the revote must be declared legally valid.
Also read: KPU and Bawaslu Report Results of Yalimo Regency Revote
No Legal Standing
Next, Constitutional Justice Suhartoyo read out the Court’s considerations on the Petitioners’ legal standing. Based on the population data recapitulation of the first semester of 2020 by the Home Ministry’s Directorate-General of Population and Civil Registry showed that the population of Yalimo Regency was 103,523. Therefore, the vote margin between the Petitioners and the candidate pair with the highest number of votes must be 2%, at most, of the total valid votes.
However, the vote margin between the two was 6,956 or 7.72%, with Candidate Pair No. 1 Nahor Nekwek-John W. Willi received 48,504 votes while Candidate Pair No. 2 Lakius Peyon-Nahum Mabel received 41,458. This means that the margin exceeded the number required by Article 158 paragraph (2) letter a of Law No. 10 of 2016. Although the Petitioners were a candidate pair in the 2020 Yalimo Regency election, Justice Suhartoyo added, they did not meet the requirements to file a judicial review petition in said article. As such, the Court asserted, they did not have the legal standing to file the petition.
Justice Suhartoyo also said that for the sake of legal certainty, in its verdict, the Court would validate the revote and the revote counting results recapitulation legally following the Yalimo Regency KPU Decree No. 301/PL.02.7/9122/2022, dated January 30, 2022, on the Certification of the Revote Recapitulation Post-Constitutional Court Decision No. 145/PHP.BUPXIX/2021 in the 2020 Yalimo Regency election.
“[The Court] then orders the Respondent to certify the accurate vote acquisition and to certify the candidate pair-elect in the 2020 Yalimo Regency election,” Justice Suhartoyo stressed.
Writer : Sri Pujianti
Editor : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR : M. Halim
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 3/11/2022 13:06 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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