The constitutional justices entering the courtroom for the petition revision hearing of the judicial review of Law No. 10 of 2016 on the Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors, Wednesday (10/26/2022). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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Wednesday, October 26, 2022 | 16:09 WIB

JAKARTA (MKRI)—The Constitutional Court (MK) held a material judicial review hearing of Article 201 paragraphs (7) and (8) of Law No. 10 of 2016 on the Second Amendment to Law No. 1 of 2015 on the Stipulation of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1 of 2014 on the Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors into Law (Pilkada Law) on Wednesday, October 26, 2022 in the panel courtroom. The hearing was to examine the revisions to the petition.

The petition No. 95/PUU-XX/2022 was filed by Muhammad Ja’far Sukhairi Nasution, regent of Mandailing Natal (Madina), North Sumatera Province. At the hearing, legal counsel Adi Mansar revealed the revisions following the justices’ advice at the previous hearing. The revisions included the addition of vice regent Atika Azmi Utammi as Petitioner II.

The Petitioners also revised their legal standing and the explanation of their constitutional impairment. “The norm and paragraph petitioned for review is Law No. 10 of 2016 Article 201 paragraphs (7) and (8), which reads, ‘‘The Governors and Vice Governors, Regents and Vice Regents, and Mayors and Vice Mayors elected in the 2020 Election shall take office until 2024,’ and paragraph (8), ‘The national simultaneous voting for the Election of Governors and Vice Governors, Regents and Vice Regents, and Mayors and Vice Mayors in all territories of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia shall be carried out in November 2024.’ Petitioners I and II are individual citizens who have the right to vote and be elected and are the regent and vice regent of Mandailing Natal. The Petitioners understand that the designation of regional head is only regulated in Article 18 paragraph (4) of the 1945 Constitution,” Adi Mansar said virtually before Constitutional Justices Arief Hidayat (panel chair), Wahiduddin Adams, and Suhartoyo.

Also read: Simultaneous Regional Election 2024 Will Reduce Regional Heads’ Tenures

At the preliminary hearing on Thursday, October 13, 2022, legal counsel Adi Mansar revealed that the Petitioner was inaugurated by the North Sumatera Governor on behalf of the Minister of Home Affairs on July 22, 2021 alongside other North Sumatera regents based on a democratic election on December 9, 2020.

“Since inaugurated, the Petitioner believes that he will hold office for five years following Article 22E of the 1945 Constitution. However, based on Article 201 paragraph (7) of Law No. 10 of 2016, ‘The Governors and Vice Governors, Regents and Vice Regents, and Mayors and Vice Mayors elected in the 2020 Election shall take office until 2024,’ and paragraph (8), ‘The national simultaneous voting for the Election of Governors and Vice Governors, Regents and Vice Regents, and Mayors and Vice Mayors in all territories of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia shall be carried out in November 2024,’” he said.

He also said Article 201 paragraphs (7) and (8) of the Pilkada Law is against Article 22E paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution (“General election shall be held directly, publicly, freely, secretly, fairly, and justly once in five years”) if it is interpreted to apply for all regencies, cities, and provinces throughout Indonesia (514 electoral districts) plus new proliferated regions. That norm would not be unconstitutional if interpreted as not applying to the Petitioner and all regencies and cities that held an election in 2020.

The Petitioner, he added, believes that it would be appropriate that the heads of 270 regions whose tenures have not reached five years to continue holding office until the 2029 Election, where all regional heads whose tenures have expired be replaced by acting regional heads.

Therefore, in the petitum, the Petitioner requested that the Court declare Article 201 paragraphs (7) and (8) of the Pilkada Law unconstitutional and null and void for the Petitioner and not legally binding. 

Writer        : Utami Argawati
Editor        : Nur R.
PR            : Tiara Agustina
Translator  : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

Translation uploaded on 10/27/2022 15:41 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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