Perludem’s legal counsel Fadli Ramadhanil conveying the petition’s subject matters, Friday (2/23/2024). Photo by MKRI/Panji.
JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) has filed a material judicial review petition 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) to the Constitutional Court (MK). In the petition No. 29/PUU-XXII/2024, it challenges Article 201 paragraphs (7), (8), and (9) of the Pilkada Law. Essentially, it requests that the Court reinterpret the norm so that the nationally simultaneous regional election take place on March 2025 and the regional heads-elect be inaugurated by July 2025.
“It is important to rearrange the schedule for simultaneous regional head election, simultaneous inauguration, and it is related to strengthening the presidential system and the national development system and regional development,” said its legal counsel Fadli Ramadhanil at the preliminary hearing presided over by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra and Constitutional Justices Arsul Sani and Anwar Usman on Friday, February 23, 2024 in the plenary courtroom.
The Petitioner believes the article is in violation of Article 1 paragraph (2), paragraph (3), Article 18 paragraph (4), Article 22E paragraph (1), Article 22E paragraph (5), and Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution. Despite the norms having been challenged to the Constitutional Court, the association believes that the petition has met the prerequisite for the re-filing of a petition with the same article with different touchstones and background.
The Pilkada Law orders that the regional election be held in November 2024. The General Elections Commission (KPU) has also decided to hold it on November 27, 2024. However, Perludem asserts that lately there have been indications that the simultaneous regional election will be moved forward to September 2024.
Perludem argues that the schedule for simultaneous regional election in all regions of Indonesia is an important variable of the electoral system that will affect the technical implementation of the election as well as the quality of the government formed from the election results.
Perludem stresses that the provision in the Pilkada Law will have implications of the many stages of the 2024 regional election that will intersect with the stages of the 2024 national election of president and legislative members of the House of Representatives (DPR), Regional Representatives Council (DPD), provincial and regency/city Regional Legislative Council (DPRD)—presidential and legislative election. The intersection of these stages will clearly result in a complex, complicated, and irrational workload for election organizers, especially the KPU.
Perludem argues that not only the technical problems of organizing the election but also the determination of the regional election schedule has a direct impact on the management of election and the quality of people’s sovereignty to determine their own governors, regents, mayors, and their deputies.
As such, the Petitioner asserts, the regional election schedule—November 27, 2024—will lead to the constitutional issue of the failure to hold an honest, fair, and democratic regional election. The Constitutional Court, it says, is important in providing constitutional protection by reinterpreting the a quo Law and decide that the regional election be held in March 2025 and the inauguration in July 2025.
In the petitums, the Petitioner requests that Article 201 paragraph (7) of the Pilkada Law be interpreted as “The Governors and Vice Governors, Regents and Vice Regents, and Mayors and Vice Mayors elected in the 2020 Election shall take office until the inauguration of the Governors and Vice Governors, Regents and Vice Regents, and Mayors and Vice Mayors by the KPU as a result of the 2025 election.” It also requests that Article 201 paragraph (8) be interpreted as “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 March 2025, and their inauguration shall be carried out by July 2025, and in the future, the national simultaneous voting for 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 concurrently with the election of members of Provincial and Regency/City DPRD.” It also requests that Article 201 paragraph (9) be interpreted as “In order to fill the vacant position of the Governors and Vice Governors, Regents and Vice Regents, and Mayors and Vice Mayors whose terms end in 2022 as referred to in paragraph (3) and those whose terms end in 2023 as referred to in paragraph (5), interim Governors and Vice Governors, Regents and Vice Regents, and Mayors and Vice Mayors shall be appointed until the inauguration of the Governors and Vice Governors, Regents and Vice Regents, and Mayors and Vice Mayors through a simultaneous national election in 2024.”
Justices’ Advice
Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra advised the Petitioner to elaborate its constitutional impairment clearly due to the enforcement of the norm being reviewed, since in the petition, it focused more on the constitutional impairment of the election organizers.
“You’re taking over the constitutional impairment of election organizers. … What if the organizers do not have any problem [with the election] and prepared to hold it,” he said.
The justices advised Perludem to think about the design of simultaneous presidential, legislative, and regional election more comprehensively rather than only about the current terms of regional heads. Before adjourning the hearing, Justice Saldi informed the Petitioner that it had 14 days to revise the petition and submit it by Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 09:00 WIB.
Author : Mimi Kartika
Editor : Nur R.
PR : Tiara Agustina
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.
Friday, February 23, 2024 | 15:58 WIB 78