Chief Justice Suhartoyo, Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, and Constitutional Justice Ridwan Mansyur presiding over a judicial review hearing of the Election Law, Monday (1/22/2024). Photo by MKRI/Panji.
JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Petitioner of case No. 166/PUU-XXI/2023 on the judicial review of provisions on personal image of election participants in Article 1 point 35, Article 274 paragraph (1), Article 280 paragraph (2), Article 281 paragraph (1), Article 286 paragraphs (1) and (2), and Article 299 paragraph (1) of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections (Election Law)—advocate Gugum Ridho Putra—conveyed the revisions to his petition at a hearing at the Constitutional Court (MK) on Monday, January 22, 2024.
He has revised the touchstones for the case. “We changed the touchstones to Article 28F and 22E paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution,” said legal counsel M. Iqbal Sumarlan Putra before Chief Justice Suhartoyo (panel chair), Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, and Constitutional Justice Ridwan Mansyur.
Iqbal also said that while Article 1 point 35 has been reviewed and ruled by the Court, the Petitioner believes that the touchstones and the background of the petition are different. The previous petition was related to the constitutionality of political parties’ right to implement political education. Meanwhile, the Petitioner challenges the phrase “Election Contestant’s personal image” in the norms being reviewed against Article 28F and 22E paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution.
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The Petitioner proposed three subject matters: the absence of campaign ban against candidates of president, vice president, ministers, governors, vice governors, regents, and vice regents, mayors, and deputy mayors who are related by consanguinity or by marriage up to the third degree or marital relations despite a divorce with the candidate pairs; the absence of ban and punishment for other parties outside of election participants, campaign organizers, and campaign teams to provide money or other materials to influence election organizers and/or voters in a structured, systematic, and massive (TSM) manner; as well as the absence of prohibition for election participants against using personal images in the form of photos/images, sounds, combined photos/images and sounds with digital manipulation, creation, alteration, digital removal or artificial intelligence (AI) technology are considered as if they were authentic personal images. He believes, these matters are not only related to free, honest, and fair election as regulated by 22E paragraph (1) and Article 28F of the 1945 Constitution but only to the ethics of public officials or state administrators in the face of election.
The Petitioner argues that there is a legal vacuum in the provisions on campaign for the upcoming 2024 election amid potential for conflicts of interest and non-restriction of personal image. The principle of honest elections shall be realized by imposing the obligation on all parties involved in elections, including organizers, the Government, political parties, participants, supervisors, and election observers as well as voters to comply with applicable laws and regulations. Meanwhile, the principle of fair elections requires that all parties involved receive an equal treatment and are free from violations.
Petitums
In the petitum, the Petitioner requests that the Court declare Article 1 point 35, Article 274 paragraph (1), Article 280 paragraph (2), Article 281 paragraph (1), Article 286 paragraphs (1) and (2), and Article 299 paragraph (1) of the Election Law unconstitutional. He requests that the Court re-interpret each of these norms as follows:
Article 1 point 35 to read: “Electoral Campaign is the activity by Election Contestants or other parties appointed by Election Contestants to persuade voters to vote a certain way by advertising a particular Election Contestant’s vision, mission, platforms, and/or image in the form of number and the latest photos/pictures of the Candidate Pairs, candidates for DPR, DPD, Provincial DPRD, Regency/City DPRD without digital manipulation or artificial intelligence (AI) technology.”
Article 274 paragraph (1) to read: “Campaign Content shall include: a. vision, mission, and policy platform of the presidential candidate ticket; b. vision, mission, and policy platform of a political party contesting in a legislative election, which will be implemented by their representatives in the DPR, Provincial DPRD, and Regency/City DPRD, if elected; c. vision, mission, and policy platform of individuals which they will implement in the DPD, if elected; d. personal image of the number and the latest photo/picture of the Candidate Pair, candidates for DPR, DPD, Provincial DPRD, Regency/City DPRD without digital manipulation or artificial intelligence (AI) technology.”
Article 280 paragraph (2) to read: “A campaign organizer and/or campaign team, in holding a campaign activity, is prohibited to involve: a. chief justice, deputy chief justice, junior secretary on court of the Supreme Court, and all justices in the Supreme Court as well as in the Constitutional Court; b. head, deputy head, and members of the Audit Board of Indonesia; c. governor, senior deputy governor, and deputy governor of the Bank of Indonesia; d. member of the board of directors, commissioners, supervisors, and employees of state or region owned enterprises; e. state officials that are not members of political parties, serving as a leader in non-structural institutions; f. civil servants; g. active members of the National Military (TNI) and the National Police Force Republic of Indonesia; h. village head; i. village staff; j. members of the village consultative body; k. an Indonesian citizen without the right to vote; and l. president, vice president, ministers, governors, vice governors, regents, vice regents, mayors, and deputy mayors who are related by consanguinity or by marriage up to the third degree or marital relations despite a divorce with the Candidate Pair, candidates for DPR, DPD, Provincial DPRD, Regency/City DPRD, and have conflicts of interest with the duties, authorities, and rights of their respective positions.”
Article 281 paragraph (1) to read: “An electoral campaign involving a president, vice president, minister, governor, vice governor, regent, vice regent, mayor, and/or deputy mayor must fulfill the following provisions: a. not using any state facilities awarded to that position, except for security details for a state official in accordance with provisions of applicable law; and, b. on unpaid leave, therefore temporarily not receiving payment under state budget; c. not being related by consanguinity or by marriage up to the third degree or, or having a spouse relationship even after divorce, with the Presidential Candidate Pair, candidates for the DPR, DPD, Provincial DPRD, Regency/City DPRD, and not having the potential for conflicts of interest with their respective duties, powers, and rights.”
Article 286 paragraph (1) to read: “Presidential candidate tickets, candidates of members of the DPR, DPD, Provincial DPRD, and Regency/City DPRD, campaign organizers, and/or campaign teams, as well as other parties are prohibited from providing money or other gifts to influence Election Organizers and/or Voters.”
Article 286 paragraph (2) to read: “Presidential candidate tickets and/or candidates of members of the DPR, DPD, Provincial DPRD, and Regency/City DPRD proven to have committed violations and/or obtained benefits or benefited from violations as referred to in paragraph (1) based on Bawaslu’s recommendation shall be punished with the administrative punishment of disqualification from being presidential candidate tickets and/or candidates of members of the DPR, DPD, Provincial DPRD, and Regency/City DPRD by the KPU.”
Article 299 paragraph (1) reads: “The President and Vice President have the right to campaign as long as not having consanguinity or kinship by marriage up to the third degree, or having a spouse relationship even after divorce with the Presidential Candidate Pair, candidates for the DPR, DPD, Provincial DPRD, Regency/City DPRD, and not having potential for conflicts of interest with their respective duties, powers, and rights.”
Author : Mimi Kartika
Editor : Nur R.
PR : Raisa Ayuditha Marsaulina
Translator : 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, January 22, 2024 | 18:59 WIB 241