Batam International University student Otniel Raja Maruli Sitomurang attending the judicial review hearing of the Election Law virtually to convey revisions to the petition, Tuesday (2/27/2024). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The petition No. 18/PUU-XXII/2024 on the judicial review of Article 228 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections (Election Law), which concerns prohibition on political parties against accepting compensation in the nomination of presidential tickets.

Legal counsel Risky Kurniawan conveyed the revisions to the petition, which include the change to the posita, the addition of the Election Law of France, the addition of legal positivism, the history of amendments to the General Election Law and the Regional Election (Pilkada) Law, as well as the mention of the book Pemilihan Umum Demokratis (“Democratic General Elections”) co-authored by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra and Khairul Fahmi.

“In this context, the judicial review mechanism is a way of keeping the regulations on elections in line with the principles of constitutional democracy that the Constitution intends,” Risky said virtually at the hearing on Tuesday, February 27, 2024.

The petition was filed by Otniel Raja Maruli Sitomurang, a law student of the Batam International University. He challenges the absence of provision on political party coalitions from accepting compensation for the nomination of presidential tickets.

Also read: Absence of Prohibition on Party Coalition Funding in Presidential Election Questioned

The a quo article reads, “(1) A political party is prohibited from receiving any form of compensation when it comes to nominating a presidential candidate ticket. (2) In the case where a political party is proven to have received compensation as mentioned in paragraph (1), that political party shall be banned from nominating any candidates in the next election. (3) A political party proven to have received compensation as mentioned in paragraph (2) shall be proven as such by a verdict of a court with permanent legal power. (4) Any individual or institution are prohibited from receiving any form of compensation when it comes to nominating a presidential candidate ticket.”

The Petitioner asserts that the article expressly prohibits political parties from receiving any form of compensation in the nomination of presidential tickets. If proven by a verdict of a court with permanent legal power that they have committed such action, it is banned from nominating any candidates in the next election.

However, Articles 226 and 229 set up requirements for political parties and coalition thereof, while Article 228 does not mention anything about party coalition. The Petitioner alleges that it is not in line with other articles and leads to legal uncertainty.

The panel hearing was presided over by Constitutional Justices Enny Nurbaningsih (panel chair), Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh, and M. Guntur Hamzah. Before adourning the hearing, Justice Enny announced that the case would be brought to a plenary justice deliberation meeting to decide whether it would continue.

Author       : Mimi Kartika
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
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.

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