Presidential ticket Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD (center) with legal counsels Todung Mulya Lubis and Maqdir Ismail (left, right) at the preliminary hearing of the 2024 presidential election dispute, Wednesday (3/27/2024) in the plenary courtroom, Jakarta. Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — “Today we challenge more than just violations in every stage of the presidential election a while ago. What shocked us all and is really demoralizing is the abuse of power,” said Presidential Candidate Number 3 Ganjar Pranowo as the Petitioner of case No. 2/PHPU.PRES-XXII/2024 at the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, March 27, 2024 in the plenary courtroom, which started at 13:00 WIB.

“When the Government uses all state resources to support a particular candidate, when the security forces are used to defend personal political interests, that is when we must be clear that we reject all acts of intimidation and oppression,” he said alongside Vice-Presidential Candidate Number 3 Moh. Mahfud MD and their legal team.

Substantive Justice

Next, in Moh. Mahfud MD statement, he urged the constitutional justices to enter into the realm of substantive justice and not mere formal procedural justice. The Constitutional Court (MK) introduced the notion of TSM (structured, systematic, and massive) violations in election dispute, which was later adopted in the Indonesian legal system.

He also said the constitutional courts in many countries have practiced judicial positivism by annulling elections that were fraudulent and marred by procedural violations, such as in Australia, Ukraine, Bolivia, Kenya, Malawi, and Thailand.

“Last but not least, we know that it is very difficult for the Constitutional Court [to rule] the election result disputes. Some will urge Your Honors to reject this petition. Others will urge that this petition be granted. It might not be a person or an institution, but it could be a whisper of conscience that comes alternately to the justices,” he said.

Abuse of Power

Meanwhile, reading the petition’s subject matter, representing the deputy for the legal team of the Ganjar-Mahfud campaign (TPN), Todung M. Lubis dan Annisa Ismail took turns to convey the arguments for case No. 2/PHPU.PRES-XXII/2024. The Petitioner believes the Election has legal vacuum relating to the prevention, mitigation, and rehabilitation of the impact of nepotism, which constitute coordinated abuse of power. Such violations are the key violations in the 2024 presidential election.

Nepotism that President Joko Widodo did in boosting Gibran Rakabuming Raka as the Vice-Presidential Candidate Number 2, Annisa said, had led to abuse of power in all levels of power and government. This fact is apparent in the Election Law’s lack of mechanism of handling coordinated TSM violations, thus resulting in clear legal vacuum.

The Petitioner also alleges that the electoral law enforcement instruments are ineffective, as seen in the General Elections Commission (KPU) independence in implementing the 2024 presidential election, the Election Organizer Ethics Council’s (DKPP) protection of the KPU (Respondent) from its own decision, and Bawaslu’s (Elections Supervisory Body) ineffective handling of reported violations.

“The 2024 is rife with violations and nepotism [and] the election organizers’ ineffectiveness is apparent from their impartiality. Bawaslu was also too formal in handling violations that occurred. In the face of TSM violations, as it was designed to protect the Constitution, the Constitutional Court cannot be trapped as a calculator court,” said Annisa at the hearing chaired by Chief Justice Suhartoyo.

With their arguments, the Petitioner requests that the Court invalidate the KPU Decree No. 360 of 2024, pertaining to the stipulation of the 2024 presidential election results, and to disqualify presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidate Pair Number 02 Prabowo Subianto dan Gibran Rakabuming Raka and the KPU Decree No. 1632 on the stipulation of the 2024 presidential and vice-presidential candidates dated November 13, 2023 and the Decree of the KPU on the 2024 presidential election dated November 14, 2023.

“[The Petitioner requests the Court] to order the General Elections Commission to hold a revote for the 2024 presidential election between Anies Rasyid Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar as Candidate Pair Number 1 and Ganjar Pranowo-M. Mahfud MD as Candidate Pair Number 3 at all polling stations throughout Indonesia by June 26, 2024,” Lubis said.

Also read:

Anies-Muhaimin File Petition on Dispute Over Presidential Election Results

Ganjar-Mahfud File Petition on Dispute Over Presidential Election Results

Chief Justice: 2024 PHPU Petitions Increase

Constitutional Justices Hold Meeting Ahead of Presidential PHPU Hearings

Prabowo-Gibran Prepared to Fight AMIN and Ganjar-Mahfud’s Petitions as Relevant Party

Constitutional Justices Ready to Face PHPU President and Vice President in 2024

Anies-Muhaimin Demand Revote in the Presidential Election Without Prabowo-Gibran

AMIN Trust Constitutional Justices in Ruling Presidential Election Disputes

The General Elections Commission (KPU) has announced the results of the 2024 general election on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. The results are stipulated in the KPU Decree No. 360 of 2024 on the Stipulation of the 2024 General Election Results of the President and Vice President, Members of the House of Representatives (DPR), Regional Representatives Council (DPD), Provincial and Regency/City Legislative Councils (DPRD). The 2024 election results were finalized based on KPU minute No. 218/PL.01.08-BA/05/2024, which was announced immediately after the KPU completed the national recapitulation and plenary meeting on Wednesday evening, March 20. The KPU’s national recapitulation results encompassed votes from 38 provinces and 128 overseas elections committees (PPLN). The total number of valid national votes is 164,227,475. According to the KPU recapitulation results, Prabowo-Gibran secured victory with 96,214,691 of the total national valid votes. Meanwhile, Anies-Muhaimin garnered 40,971,906 votes, and Ganjar-Mahfud received 27,040,878 votes.

Author       : Sri Pujianti/L.A.P.
Editor        : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR            : Fauzan Febriyan
Translator  : 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.

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