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Chief Justice Anwar Usman officially opening a workshop on the 2024 election results disputes for KPU Batch II, Monday (9/18/12023). Photo by MKRI/Ilham W.M.
BOGOR (MKRI) — Chief Justice Court Anwar Usman opened a workshop on the procedural law for the 2024 General Election Results Disputes (PHPU) for the Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) Batch I on Monday, September 18, 2023 at the Pancasila and Constitution Education Center (Pusdik) in Cisarua, Bogor, West Java Province.
He said members of Bawaslu should be ready to respond allegations from several parties as it is impossible for them to make examination decisions that satisfy all parties. He advised the workshop’s participants to think of their work as Bawaslu members as a part of religious worship.
He also hoped that Bawaslu members could gain knowledge and new experiences to improve their capacity through this workshop. The procedural laws in the Court have specific characteristics, thus in-depth understanding is needed to be able to litigate optimally.
Examination by Bawaslu
In his opening remarks, head of Bawaslu Rahmat Bagja said that he once hoped the Constitutional Court’s open, public hearing could be also applied to examination by Bawaslu. Currently, he said, Bawaslu’s examination results can be accessed online. This transparency, he realized, can be achieved thanks to the Court’s support in the establishment of this system.
On August 19, 2023, Bagja appointed regency/city Bawaslu members throughout Indonesia for the 2023-2028 period in Jakarta. Sixty percent of the new members attended this workshop, but they had an experience as supervisors at lower levels. There are also Bawaslu staff that became Bawaslu members.
Bagja also talked about a Bawaslu member who testified at the Court’s hearing but was unable to adequately answer the justices’ questions. To prevent such an incidence, Bawaslu should note all violations occurring in the field. They should be well prepared before delivering testimony before the Court so they can adequately answer any questions.
“In this workshop, we will get to experience delivering our testimony before the honorable constitutional justices,” he said.
Public Consultation Forum
According to Secretary-General Heru Setiawan in his report, a public examination confirmation was carried out at the Public Consultation Forum (FKP) before the workshop started, which Bawaslu members also attended. The forum was held to foster a positive work culture of service, accountability, harmony, and collaboration, as well as to support the establishment of excellent public service in the Registrar’s Office and the Secretariat-General of the Constitutional Court and to urge society to provide inputs/opinions on the Court’s public services. The FKP was a hybrid FGD (focus group discussion) with the KPU (General Elections Commission) or Bawaslu as participants. The public who were interested in the Court’s general election results dispute (PHPU) workshops were welcome to attend online.
Heru also said that the participants would learn the Court’s procedural law so they would understand their roles at PHPU hearings. During PHPU hearings, the Court will provide facilities for Bawaslu and KPU.
Procedural Law on PHPU
In the first session of the workshop, Constitutional Justice Wahiduddin delivered a presentation on the 2024 General Election and the procedure to elect DPR (House of Representatives), DPD (Regional Representatives Council), and DPRD (Regional Legislative Council) members. He added that the object of disputes over elections results is the certified vote counting results.
The petitioner in a PHPU case on legislative election is a political party or individual legislative candidates who have written approval from the party’s chairperson and secretary-general. The KPU is the respondent, while Bawaslu is an informant.
Bawaslu’s statement includes follow-up reports or findings relevant to the petition’s subject matter, as well as how Bawaslu organizes oversight. The statement includes evidence in the form of letters or texts as well as a list of evidence. Justice Wahiduddin stressed the importance of the list of evidence in facilitating examination, and such technical concerns would be the focus of this workshop, particularly when Bawaslu’s statement is submitted to the Court.
Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih explained that the Election Law has divided up the authority to administer the election, and the Constitutional Court only addresses disputes over election results because disputes over the procedure has been delegated to election organizers. “The process does influence the results, but the problems in the process must be resolved in the process,” she said.
She explained that Bawaslu’s position is not to respond to the petition but to give testimony on Bawaslu members have done, so it doesn’t need to explain the institution’s duties, functions, and authority. Bawaslu’s duty at the hearing is to explain whether there has been violations and report as claimed by the petitioner. Bawaslu should be looking carefully at the petition’s timeline, revision, and when it is registered in the e-BRPK (electronic constitutional case registration book).
She encouraged the participants to prepare for the presidential PHPU hearings by preparing their physical stamina. “Because the hearings may last from morning until the next morning, depending on the arguments submitted by the petitioner,” she said.
Author : Ilham W.M.
Editor : Nur R.
Translator : Nyi Mas Laras Nur Inten Kemalasari/Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
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.
Monday, September 18, 2023 | 17:50 WIB 42