KPU Chairman Mochammad Afifuddin and his Legal Counsel Bowie Haraswan after participating in the PHPU of DPRD Members of Rokan Hulu 3 Riau Province, Tuesday (14/08) in the Constitutional Court. Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

---

JAKARTA, MKRI - The Constitutional Court (MK) held a hearing for Case Number 287-01-04-04/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXII/2024 concerning the General Election Results Disputes (PHPU) related to the DPRD Member elections for Dapil Rokan Hulu 3, Riau Province. The session took place in the MK Courtroom on Tuesday, August 13, 2024. The agenda for this hearing included listening to the responses from the Respondent (KPU), related parties, and Bawaslu.

In a hearing chaired by Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo, with Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah, the KPU, represented by legal counsel Bowie Haraswan, addressed the petitioner's claims regarding the re-voting process. The petitioner argued that the KPU did not conduct re-voting at 31 polling stations in North Tambusai Village, North Tambusai Subdistrict, Rokan Hulu Regency as required by legislation and failed to update the permanent voters list.

Bowie Haraswan countered that these allegations were unfounded and should be dismissed. He stated that the KPU had indeed carried out the re-voting at the specified polling stations, including polling stations 10, 11, 13 through 17, 18 through 21, 22 through 25, 26 through 29, 30 through 34, 40 through 47, as mandated by the Constitutional Court's Decision Number 247-01-04-04/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXII/2024 dated June 6, 2024.

Bowie emphasized that the re-voting process at these 31 polling stations had been conducted in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, confirming that the KPU's actions were in line with the Constitutional Court's ruling.

Bowie Haraswan explained that before implementing the Constitutional Court Decision Number 247-01-04-04/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXII/2024, the KPU issued Decree Number 768 of 2024 on June 14, 2024. This decree outlined the stages and schedule for re-voting following the Constitutional Court's decision.

During the same hearing, Rido Hidayat, legal counsel for PDIP, argued that the Petitioner’s claims—that the KPU did not comply with Constitutional Court Decision Number 247-01-04-04/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXII/2024 and failed to conduct re-voting at 31 polling stations in North Tambusai Village in accordance with Law 7/2017—were unfounded. Rido stated that the re-voting was carried out as ordered by the Constitutional Court and in accordance with the Election Law, with the process at the 31 polling stations proceeding smoothly.

Indra Khalid Nasution, a member of Bawaslu Riau, reported that based on the supervision results from the Polling Station Supervisors (PTPS), the re-voting (PSU) at the 31 polling stations in North Tambusai Village was conducted on July 13, 2024.

Previously, the Petitioner argued that the KPU failed to conduct the required re-voting (PSU) at 31 polling stations in North Tambusai Village, North Tambusai District, Rokan Hulu Regency, as mandated by Constitutional Court Decision Number 247-01-04-04/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXII/2024. The Petitioner contended that the KPU did not properly verify or update the Final Voter List (DPT) for these areas, which affected the accuracy of the vote counts for candidates in the Riau Provincial House of Representatives Electoral District 3.

The Petitioner claimed that the KPU did not involve them in the data updating process, nor did they solicit the Petitioner’s feedback or verify the DPT with them. According to the Petitioner, stakeholders such as Election Supervisors, Legislative Candidates, and Campaign Teams should have been given the opportunity to review and provide input on the updated voter data.

Additionally, the Petitioner argued that the KPU, along with other organizing bodies (PPS, PPK, and KPU Rohul Regency), should have better coordinated with the police to ensure the security of the re-voting process and adhered to the Constitutional Court's ruling and instructions from KPU RI.

As a result, the Petitioner requested that the Constitutional Court order a new re-voting election, arguing that the KPU's failure to implement the court's decision had significantly disadvantaged the Petitioner in terms of vote acquisition.

Author: Utami Argawati

Editor             : Lulu Anjarsari P

PR                 : Fauzan F.

Translator       : Fuad Subhan

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.

 

---