Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidate Pair Number 01 Anies Rasyid Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar at the preliminary hearing of a 2024 presidential election dispute, Wednesday (3/27/2024) in the plenary courtroom, Jakarta. Photo by MKRI.
JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held the preliminary hearing of the presidential election results dispute (Presidential PHPU) on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at the plenary courtroom. The case No. 1/PHPU.PRES-XXII/2024 was filed by Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidate Pair Number 01 Anies Rasyid Baswedan and Muhaimin Iskandar. They challenge the General Elections Commission (KPU) Decision No. 360 of 2024 on the Stipulation of General Election Results for President and Vice President, Members of the House of Representatives (DPR), Regional Representatives Council (DPD), Provincial and Regency/City Legislative Councils (DPRD) in the 2024 General Election.
Also read: Anies-Muhaimin File Petition on Dispute Over Presidential Election Results
During today’s hearing, the focus is on the preliminary hearing or the presentation of the petition by the Petitioner. In the presence of Chief Justice Suhartoyo and seven other constitutional justices, Baswedan asserted that the 2024 presidential election was not conducted in a manner that was free, honest, and fair.
“The question is whether the 2024 presidential election has been carried out freely, honestly, and fairly? Let us answer, no. The opposite happened,” he declared. His running mate Muhaimin also attended the hearing alongside him.
Election Violations
The Petitioner’s legal counsel Bambang Widjojanto outlined the primary arguments of the petition. The Petitioner contended that the tally of votes for Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidate Pair Number 02, Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka, totaling 96,214,691 votes or 58.6 percent, was secured through methods that violated the fundamental principles of elections and the standards governing the conduct of elections, particularly the principles of free, honest, and fair election.
“There are various modes of crimes against the Constitution and fraudulent methods used by President Jokowi to support Candidate Pair 02, all of which have resulted in various derivative crimes in the form of violations of electoral procedures that affect election results,” he stated.
Bambang further elaborated that the alleged betrayal of the Constitution and violation of the principles of freedom, honesty, and fairness stems from several factors. These included the interference of power leading to the lack of the independence of election organizers, the alleged nepotism of Candidate Pair 02 of utilizing the presidential institution, the extensive appointment of acting regional heads in influencing voters, the mobilization of lower-level structures by acting regional heads, the involvement of state apparatuses, the mobilization of village heads, the President’s summoning of coalition political party leaders to the State Palace, intervention in the Constitutional Court proceedings, the alleged misuse of social assistance in contravention of the State Budget Law (APBN Law) and its perceived impact on Candidate Pair 02’s vote acquisition, as well as the timing of salary and benefit increases for election organizers, all of which were deemed critical moments in the electoral process.
Meanwhile, the arguments for procedural violations stem from various aspects, including the manipulation of the final voters list (DPT), irregularities in ballots cast for Candidate Pair 02, the alleged reduction of votes for the Petitioner, instances of money politics (vote buying), cases of multiple voting, abnormalities in polling stations (TPS), allegations of minors voting, and purported fraud by the General Elections Commission (KPU) through information technology systems and the Sirekap (recapitulation information system).
Bambang further elucidated that several polling stations were allegedly unregistered, and some failed to conduct voting altogether, as exemplified in Sleman, Yogyakarta. Discrepancies between the KPU decree on the number of polling stations and voter data for the 2024 election and the KPU website regarding the vote count results were noted. Additionally, he highlighted the concerning discovery of minors voting at TPS 7 of Kemanisan Village, Curug, Serang City, Banten Province, suggesting possible deliberate intent behind the irregularity.
Gibran’s Candidacy
According to the Petitioner, the KPU (Respondent) had knowingly and unlawfully approved the candidacy of Candidate Pair 02 despite vice-presidential candidate Gibran not meeting the age requirement outlined in KPU Regulation (PKPU) No. 19 of 2023 on the nomination of participants in the general election of president and vice president at the time of registration.
According to the Petitioner, the KPU had accepted and validated Gibran’s registration as a vice-presidential candidate without prior revision of said PKPU. This assertion is supported by the legal considerations outlined in the Decision of the Election Organizer Ethics Council (DKPP) No. 135-PKE-DKPP/XII/2023. The DKPP decision stipulated that, in response to the Constitutional Court Decision No. 90/PUU-XXI/2023 regarding the age limit requirements for presidential and vice-presidential candidates, the KPU was obligated to revise PKPU No. 19 of 2023. However, it made amendments to the PKPU only after receiving and validating Gibran’s registration.
President’s Support
The Petitioner contends that prior to President Jokowi’s son Gibran being nominated as Prabowo’s vice president, Prabowo’s electability remained close and competitive with other candidates, as evidenced by several survey results. However, following Gibran’s candidacy as vice presidential candidate alongside Prabowo, there were unmistakable trends and indications suggesting that the president, ministers, and village officials intensified their activities and openly or indirectly to support Candidate Pair Number 02.
According to the Petitioner, the actions undertaken by the president, ministers, acting regional heads, and village officials, which involve the abuse of authority and the utilization of government programs and state budget resources to benefit Candidate Pair 02, may constitute a violation as regulated in the provisions of Article 282 and Article 283 paragraph (1) of the Election Law. Therefore, the Petitioner argues that the Constitutional Court can reasonably conclude that the vote results cannot be utilized to determine the winner of the presidential election.
In the petitum, the Petitioner formally urged the Constitutional Court to invalidate KPU Decision No. 360 of 2024, pertaining to the Stipulation of National Election Results, and to declare the disqualification of presidential and vice-presidential Candidate Pair Number 02 Prabowo-Gibran from participating in the 2024 election. Additionally, the Petitioner requests the annulment of the KPU decree associated with the declaration of Candidate Pair 02, specifically concerning the assignment of number for their participation in the presidential and vice-presidential election. Furthermore, the Petitioner appeals to the Constitutional Court to direct the KPU to organize a revote (PSU) by excluding Candidate Pair Number 02 Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Additionally, the Petitioner requests that the General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) oversee the execution of this directive.
Before concluding the hearing, Chief Justice Suhartoyo announced that the hearings would resume on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at 13:00 WIB. The upcoming session is slated to include the KPU’s response as the Respondent, Bawaslu’s statement, and the statement from the Relevant Party or Candidate Pair Number 02 Prabowo-Gibran.
Author : Mimi Kartika
Editor : Nur R.
Translator : Fuad Subhan/Yuniar Widiastuti (RA)
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.
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 | 12:44 WIB 351