Chief Justice Anwar Usman delivering a presentation at a national seminar at the Law Faculty of the Islamic University of Indonesia, Saturday (12/10/2022). Photo by MKRI/Agung.
Sunday, December 11, 2022 | 20:01 WIB
(MKRI) — The Constitution has mandated that general elections be held based on the principles of direct, public, free, confidential, honest, and fair. Direct means every citizen must exercise their right to vote by themselves without proxy. Public means that the elections be open to the public, transparent, thus accountability. Free means every citizen has the right to vote for any candidate without pressure from anyone. Confidential means that every citizen has the right not to inform anyone who they vote for. Honest and fair means that every organizer or state apparatus involved in the election or regional election process, from the initial stage to the final settlement of disputes, must be honest and fair.
The statement was made by Chief Justice Anwar Usman at a national seminar on “The Constitutional Court’s Challenge in Settling 2024 General and Regional Elections” by the magister study program (PSHPM) of the Law Faculty of the Islamic University of Indonesia (UII) on Saturday, December 10, 2022 in the 3rd floor east wing meeting room of the UII building, Yogyakarta.
He added that honesty of state apparatuses involved in general/regional elections can be interpreted as moral integrity in carrying out every process and stage of the election and in carrying out their duties and responsibilities in accordance with statutory regulations. Meanwhile, fairness of these state apparatuses can be interpreted as being fair and treating all election participants equally without exception. In every general/regional election, the Constitutional Court always conducts technical assistance programs for all stakeholders.
“This can be interpreted as part of the Constitutional Court’s fairness and equal treatment to all stakeholders to ensure the smooth implementation of general/regional elections because every relevant party knows the entire process and stages of the settlement of general/regional elections dispute cases in an objective and transparent manner. If the principles of general/regional elections serve as guidelines and are implemented properly, hopefully the general/regional elections process can be held fairly, and the results are expected to lead to a government with strong legitimacy supported by the people,” he explained.
However, in reality, Chief Justice Anwar added, election democracy is not easy and can run smoothly without any hindrances. Elections in various parts of the world, not only in Indonesia, have also experienced difficult challenges.
“Because democracy that is not managed properly can lead to division, chaotic situations, to the point of national disintegration. This is not just a figment of the imagination, because it has happened and is experienced by various countries in the world,” he said.
Development of Democracy and Electoral System
Chief Justice Anwar also explained that in the context of the development of democracy and the electoral system, the Constitutional Court in Decision No. 14/PUU-XI/2013 and subsequent decisions reformulated the interpretation of Article 6A and Article 22E of the 1945 Constitution. In this case, the Court upheld the original intent and use systematic and grammatical approaches to interpret the implementation of legislative and presidential elections.
The reinterpretation lead to legislative and presidential elections, originally held separately, to be held simultaneously. This aims to strengthen the presidential system according to the design of the constitutional system that is now adopted by the 1945 Constitution after the amendment. In addition, simultaneous presidential and legislative elections are expected to achieve efficiency in several ways.
“First, simultaneous elections are expected to economize state funds to finance them, so that the state budget [surplus] resulting from it can be used to achieve other state goals, primarily to promote people’s welfare. Second, simultaneous elections are expected to reduce time and minimize horizontal conflicts or friction in society. More than that, with the presidential and legislative elections being held simultaneously, it is a means of to educate the people to use their right to vote intelligently, because every citizen can have a stake in building a map of checks and balances of a presidential government,” Chief Justice Anwar explained.
He believes the development of democracy and elections is a process that must be interpreted positively, despite leading to system issues not only in implementing the election, but also related in settling election disputes after the vote recapitulation.
Chief Justice Anwar ended his presentation by emphasizing that the success of election results dispute resolution in the Constitutional Court does not solely depend on the Court, but also on various parties. He hoped academics would oversee the ongoing democratic process.
“Academics are also a pillar of democracy and key players for the successful and democratic implementation of the 2024 simultaneous elections, to jointly guard this democratic process so that it stays on the right track,” he concluded.
Writer : Utami Argawati
Editor : Nur R.
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 12/13/2022 09:32 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.
Sunday, December 11, 2022 | 20:01 WIB 345