A ruling hearing for the 2024 legislative election results dispute for Cianjur 3, West Java Province, Monday (5/27/2024) on panel 1. Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) continued the hearing for the 2024 legislative election results dispute to hear testimonies by experts and witnesses on Monday, May 27, 2024. Usman Nawawi, a witness for the Petitioner of case No. 55-02-02-12/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXII/2024, recounted how village heads in Mentengsari, Cikalongkulon Subdistrict, Cianjur Regency had voted on dozens of ballots.

Usman said while counting votes at TPS (polling station) 15 of Mentengsari Village at around 16:30 WIB, the head of Mentengsari Village, Soemantri, came and told the polling station working committee (KPPS) to open the ballot box for the Cianjur Regency DPRD election. The KPPS first planned to open the ballot boxes and count votes for the presidential and DPR (House of Representatives) election, not that of the DPRD (Regional Legislative Council) election.

Somantri then opened the sealed ballot box for the Cianjur Regency DPRD election and revoted. According to Usman, Somantri voted on the ballots and gave the votes to PKB (National Awakening Party) legislative candidate Aziz and Gerindra (Great Movement Party) legislative candidate Gugun Gunawan. However, Usman could not clearly state the number of ballots that Somantri had voted on.

“Somantri voted on ballots from the box. Not all of them [but] dozens of them,” said Usman in front of Chief Justice Suhartoyo, Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh, and Justice M. Guntur Hamzah in the plenary courtroom.

No Report

On the other hand, the Respondent’s (General Elections Commission/KPU) witness Adi Miharja, head of the Mentengsari polling committee, said there were no reports of village head Somantri voted more than once. The Respondent only learned about the incident on March 16, 2024 through a video that had gone viral. Soemantri has now been sentenced to nine months in prison by the Cianjur District Court.

“The video was about [illegal] voting by the Mentengsari village head. What I know is that he has been sentenced for nine months,” said Adi answering the panel’s questions.

Also read:

Gerindra Candidates Fight for Cianjur 3 Regency DPRD Seat

KPU Answers Gerindra Candidates’ Dispute for Cianjur 3

The Petitioner, Gerindra legislative candidate Hendry Juanda, argued that there had been voting outside the specified time by Mentengsari village head Somantri and KPPS members. As a result, votes for another Gerindra DPRD candidate for the electoral district of Cianjur Regency 3, Gugun Gunawan, were inflated.

Thus, in the petitum, the Petitioner requests the Court to order the KPU to conduct a revote for the Cianjur Regency DPRD election for electoral district 3 at TPS (polling stations) 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 in Mentengsari Village, Cikalongkulon Subdistrict, Cianjur Regency, West Java Province. Relating to the subject matter, the Petitioner asks the Court to determine the correct vote results according to the Petitioner: 5,514 votes for Hendry Juanda and 5,506 votes for Gugun Gunawan, plus the results of the revote for both candidates.

Author              : Mimi Kartika
Editor                : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR                    : Fauzan Febriyan
Translator         : Sedanti Anjali Putri, Yuniar W.

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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