The ruling hearing of the material judicial review hearing of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections, Tuesday (3/29/2022). Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.

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Tuesday, March 29, 2022 | 22:32 WIB

JAKARTA, Public Relations—The Constitutional Court (MK) declared the petition No. 26/PUU-XX/2022 on the judicial review of Article 2 of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections (Election Law) withdrawn, said Chief Justice Anwar Usman at a ruling hearing in the plenary courtroom on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.

The Court stated that it had carry out a preliminary hearing on March 17 where the Petitioner clarified his intention to withdraw the petition, citing limited legal knowledge to form a petition that follow the format set by the Court.

Based on Article 35 paragraphs (1) and (2) of the Constitutional Court, the constitutional justices carried out a justice deliberation meeting (RPH) on March 22 that concluded that the withdrawal request had been legally warranted. Thus, the Petitioner cannot re-file the petition. The Chief Registrar was to record the withdrawal in the electronic constitutional case registration book (e-BRPK) and to return the petition’s copy to the Petitioner.

Also read: Petitioner Withdraws Petition on the Electoral Principles of “Free” and “Confidential”

The petition No. 26/PUU-XX/2022 was filed by Djudjur Prasasto. At the preliminary hearing on Thursday, March 17, he challenged Article 2, which reads, “A General Election shall be held upon the principles of being direct, public, free, confidential, honest, and fair.”

The Petitioner, who appeared before the Court virtually without counsel, asserted that the words “free” and “confidential” overlapped. He argued that if someone’s freedom to vote is guaranteed, he/she must be free to publicize or conceal his/her vote. On the other hand, if one must conceal his/her vote, this means that he/she is not free. In addition, the Petitioner argued that the word “confidential” is no longer relevant in this digital era.

“The elimination of the principle ‘confidential’ in the election would allow for e-voting, so it would be more economical, swift, and accountable. This is because voters would feel a sense of involvement in voting, as they can track the identity of voters at the [polling stations (TPS)] level to the national level,” the Petitioner argued before the panel—Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh (panel chair), Suhartoyo, and Enny Nurbaningsih.

However, after conveying his points, the Petitioner requested to withdraw the petition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya2Vfcr6gbs

Writer        : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : Nur R.
PR            : Tiara Agustina
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 4/5/2022 08:00 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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