The Constitutional Court’s ruling hearing on the 2024 legislative election results dispute, Monday (6/10/2024). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) has completed the task of adjudicating the 2024 legislative election results dispute (PHPU) cases. The ruling hearings lasted for three days on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, June 6, 7, and ending on June 10, 2024.

In total, the Court examined 297 registered petitions regarding election results dispute of the DPR (House of Representative), DPD (Regional Representatives Council), Provincial and Regency/City DPRD (Regional Legislative Council). It granted 44 petitions, with six granted in full and 38 granted in part.

It decided to reject 57 petitions and dismiss 148 others. In addition, it handed down decrees for 15 petitions that were withdrawn by the petitioners, while 20 cases fell through, and 13 cases were not heard as they fell outside of the Court’s authority.

Of the cases that were granted, one in particular attracted the most public attention. The petitioner, DPD former chairman Irman Gusman, ran for DPD in the electoral district (dapil) of West Sumatera.

In Decision No. 03-03/PHPU.DPD-XXII/2024, the Court ordered the General Elections Commission (KPU) to conduct a revote of the 2024 DPD election in West Sumatera Province. The Court also ordered the KPU to include Irman Gusman as an election participant.

“The Petitioner must announce his profile honestly and openly, including of him having been a convict, through media that can be widely accessed by the public, including voters, within a maximum of 45 days after the a quo decision is pronounced, and the KPU must determine the correct vote acquisition as a result of the revote without the need to report to the Court,” said Chief Justice Suhartoyo at a ruling hearing on Monday, June 10, in the plenary courtroom.

Also read: Court Orders Re-vote of DPD Election in West Sumatera to Include Irman Gusman

Disqualification

Unlike Irman Gusman, Golkar (Party of Functional Groups) legislative candidate Erick Hendrawan Septian Putra failed to win the Tarakan City DPRD election in electoral district Tarakan City 1. This is because he was former convict who had not passed the five-year waiting period. Therefore, the Court ordered the KPU to conduct a revote without including him.

“[The Court adjudicated] to grant the Petitioner’s petition in part; to declare the disqualification of Erick Hendrawan Septian Putra as a Tarakan City DPRD candidate for electoral district Tarakan City 1,” said Chief Justice Suhartoyo at a ruling hearing on Monday, June 6.

Also read: Not Yet Five Years After Serving Sentence, Erick Hendrawan Septian Putra Disqualified from Revoting in Tarakan Tengah 1

Women Representation

Another interesting petition granted by the Court concerned the women’s representation of 30 percent in parliament. The Court ordered the KPU to conduct a revote for Gorontalo Province DPRD election in electoral district Gorontalo 6. This is because the political parties participating in the election did not fulfill the 30-percent minimum quota of women in the list of DPRD candidates.

In the revote, which must be carried out within 45 days, political parties participating in the election are given the opportunity to improve their candidate lists to meet the women representation’s requirement.

If a political party is unable to meet the minimum requirements, the Gorontalo Province KPU will drop the political party from said DPRD election. This will also apply to subsequent elections.

“In the future, electoral districts that do not meet the minimum requirement of 30 percent of women candidates in the next elections, the KPU shall order the political parties participating in the elections to improve the candidates list. If it is still not fulfilled, the KPU must disqualify the political party in the election in the electoral district concerned. Because the Court’s decision is not as requested in the Petitioner’s petition, the petition is declared legally grounded in part,” said Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra reading legal considerations on the case, petitioned by the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), on Thursday, June 6.

For information, the number of legislative election dispute cases that were granted in 2024 was more than in 2019. Based on the Court’s Case Handling Information System (SIMPP), there were 13 cases in 2019 that were partially granted out of a total of 261 cases registered. In 2019, the Court decided that the petition was inadmissible in 122 cases and 82 cases were rejected. Meanwhile, the Court made a decision on 10 cases that were withdrawn by the Petitioner, and 34 cases were canceled because the Petitioner and/or legal counsel did not attend the hearing without valid reasons.

Also read: The Court Orders Re-Voting for 30% Women Representation in Gorontalo 6

Author              : Mimi Kartika
Editor               : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translators       : Jessica Rivena Meilania/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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