The Petitioners conveying the main points of revision of their petition at the panel hearing on the Law on Regional Head Candidacy Requirements, Monday (12/08/2024) at the Courtroom. Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA, HUMAS MKRI - The Constitutional Court (MK) held a hearing on the revision of the petition for three cases at once, namely Cases 88/PUU-XXII/2024, 89/PUU-XXII/2024, and 90/PUU-XXII/2024 on Monday (12/8/2024). The Petitioners tested Article 7 paragraph (2) letter e of Law No. 10 of 2016 on Regional Head Elections (Pilkada Law), which questions the minimum age limit of each candidate for regional heads.

Article 7 paragraph (2) letter e of the Pilkada Law reads, “Candidates for Governor and Deputy Governor Candidates, Regent and Deputy Regent Candidates, and Mayor and Deputy Mayor Candidates as referred to in paragraph (1) must fulfill the following requirements: e. at least 30 (thirty) years old for Candidates for Governor and Deputy Governor and 25 (twenty-five) years old for Candidates for Regent and Deputy Regent and Candidates for Mayor and Deputy Mayor.”

The Petitioners said that although the article is an open legal policy, they asked the Court to re-interpret the norms of the article in question for the sake of legal certainty. According to the Petitioners, there is no definite time when the minimum age limit for regional head candidates is calculated.

“Article 7 paragraph (2) letter e of Law No. 10 of 2016 does not provide sufficient explanation on how this age limit is applied, resulting in different interpretations in practice. This uncertainty is contrary to the principle of legal certainty stipulated in the 1945 Constitution, where the law must be clear and not cause doubt in its application,” said Principal Petitioner of Case No. 88/PUU-XXII/2024, Sigit Nugroho Sudibyanto, who attended the hearing via video conference accompanied by his legal counsel.

Sigit asked the Court to interpret the lowest age of regional head candidates as starting from the registration of candidate pairs. Meanwhile, the Petitioners of Case No. 89/PUU-XXII/2024 requested that the lowest age of regional head candidates be calculated from the determination of candidate pairs. Meanwhile, the Petitioners of Case No. 90/PUU-XXII/2024 want the lowest age of regional head candidates to be calculated from the date of voting.

Also read: Minimum Age Limit for Regional Head Candidates Challenged Again

In the petition, the Petitioners argue that the article does not clearly specify when the minimum age of a regional head candidate should be calculated. They claim that this lack of clarity undermines legal certainty regarding their constitutional right to vote, thus violating the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

The Petitioners explained that this provision is the basis for the General Elections Commission (KPU) to draw up Article 4 paragraph (1) letter d of the KPU Regulation No. 9 of 2020. In this regulation, the KPU states that the age of regional head candidates should be calculated from the date of candidate pair determination.

However, the Supreme Court (MA), through its ruling, interpreted this KPU provision to mean that the minimum age should be calculated from the inauguration of the elected candidate pairs. According to the Petitioners, determining the minimum age from the inauguration date disregards and disrespects their right to be elected.

According to one of the Principal Petitioners of Case No. 90/PUU-XXII/2024, Syafi'I Al Ma'ruf, the determination of the candidate's age limit starting from the inauguration of the elected candidate pair has ignored and not given respect to the right to vote owned by the Petitioners as a constitutional right as well as a human right, because the right is channeled at the date of voting. Meanwhile, the existence of Article 7 paragraph (2) letter e of the Pilkada Law in conjunction with Supreme Court Decision No. 23 P/HUM/2024 opens the potential for candidates who have not met the minimum age requirement to be elected at the time of voting.(*)

Author: Mimi Kartika
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR: Raisa Ayuditha Marsaulina

Translator: Rizky Kurnia Chaesario/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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