Officials from the General Election Commission presented the Ballot Box in front of the Panel of Justices and the parties involved during the evidentiary hearing for PHPU of the Lahat Regency 4 on Friday, August 16, at the Constitutional Court. Photo by MKRI/Ifa.
JAKARTA, MKRI – The Constitutional Court (MK) instructed the General Election Commission (KPU) to recount the ballots for the election of DPRD members of Lahat Regency in Election District (Dapil) 4 during the General Election Results Dispute (PHPU) hearing. The recount is scheduled to take place on Friday, August 16, 2024, starting at 08:00 WIB in the Plenary Room of the Constitutional Court, Central Jakarta.
The opening of ballot boxes will be conducted for six polling stations: polling station 1 and polling station 2 of Tanjung Kurung Ulu Village, polling station 2 of Tanjung Menang Village, polling station 1 and polling station 2 of Padang Perigi Village, and polling station 1 of Tanjung Kurung Ilir Village, Tanjung Tebat District. Before commencing the recount, Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat requested that the KPU read out the provisions concerning valid and invalid ballots, emphasizing the importance of this information for all parties involved. These provisions are outlined in KPU Decree Number 66 of 2024, which covers Technical Guidelines for the Implementation of Voting and Vote Counting in General Elections.
The recount of ballots was divided into three panels. Each panel was responsible for opening four ballot boxes: two for the election of members of the Lahat Regency DPRD Dapil 4 from two polling stations, and two for the presidential and vice-presidential elections from the same polling stations. The presidential ballot boxes were opened solely to verify the voter list.
Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat further explained the procedure for conducting the recount at the Constitutional Court. The KPU carried out the recount by opening the ballots sheet by sheet from each pile, examining the voting marks on the ballots, and displaying them to the parties present.
"The KPU will then clearly declare the validity or invalidity of each ballot, speaking in a clear voice and at a moderate pace, so that all parties and the recording officers can follow along," He said.
Before starting the recount, the KPU first matched the number of ballots in each box with the number of voters listed in the forms: model C. Final Voters List-KPU, model C. Additional Voters List-KPU, and model C. Special Voters List-KPU. The KPU also compared the signatures of the polling station working committee (KPPS) on the ballot papers with those on the model C forms. If there were any differences in opinion among the parties regarding the matching of signatures on the ballot papers, the Panel of Justice would decide on the validity of those signatures.
After the recount, the Panel of Justices instructed each party from each panel to submit a brief report on the results. For example, the Respondent's legal counsel, Ridhotul Hairi, reported that in panel 2, there were 221 registered voters (DPT). The total number of ballots received, including a 2 percent reserve, amounted to 226 ballots. Of these, 191 were valid votes, 9 were invalid, totaling 200 valid and invalid ballots, while 23 ballots remained unused, including the reserve ballots.
Ridhotul Hairi explained the chronology of the ballot recount in panel 2, which involved opening the ballot box from polling station 1 of Tanjung Kurung Ilir Village. During the recount, the Petitioner raised an objection regarding 86 ballots, alleging that the signatures on these ballots differed from those on the model C Ballot Recount Results form. In response, the KPU explained that during the ballot collection process, it was not solely the Chairman of the KPPS who signed the ballots. Due to field conditions, signatures on the ballots could have been replaced by other KPPS officers.
On the other hand, the Petitioner's attorney, Firnanda, pointed out that there was no model C. Form Results in the ballot box presented by the KPU during the hearing. The discrepancies in the KPPS Chairman's signature on the ballots, compared to those on the model C. Form Results presented by the Court, became a significant point of contention and debate during the recount process.
After the recount, the Constitutional Court prepared the Minutes of the Opening of Ballot Boxes for Case Number 290-01-04-06/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXII/2024 (South Sumatra Province). These minutes will be included as an attachment to the Court's final decision and are part of the case proceedings. The minutes documented the recount results and the reports from each party, and were signed by the parties involved, as well as by Constitutional Judge Arief Hidayat, Constitutional Justice Arsul Sani, and Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih. The hearing concluded around 5 p.m.
Before adjourning, Arief Hidayat informed the parties that they would be awaiting the Court's call for a ruling session. He mentioned that the Court plans to hold the verdict hearing on August 19, 2024.
Read also:
Court Orders KPU to Present Ballot Boxes from 6 Polling Stations in Lahat 4
KPU Rejects Golkar Party's Argument for Recount in Lahat 4
For reference, the Golkar Party in Case Number 290-01-04-06/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXII/2024 argued that the KPU did not conduct the recount as mandated by the Constitutional Court's decision in the previous PHPU case.
“In the recount of ballots at polling stations 1 and 2 of Tanjung Kurung Ulu Village, polling station 2 of Tanjung Menang Village, polling station 1 and polling station 2 of Padang Perigi Village, and polling station 1 of Tanjung Kurung Ilir Village, Tanjung Tebat Subdistrict, the Respondent did not implement General Election Commission Regulation Number 25 of 2023,” said the Petitioner's legal counsel, Dodi Boy Fenaloza, during the preliminary examination hearing on Friday, August 9, 2024.
The Petitioner explained that the Lahat Regency KPU had conducted a recount on June 19, 2024, as ordered by the Constitutional Court's decision Number 275-01-05-06/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXII/2024. However, according to the Petitioner, the recount process was not conducted properly, leading the Lahat Regency KPU to move the recount to the Provincial KPU on June 20, 2024.
Furthermore, the Petitioner stated that the KPU did not verify the attendance lists of the Final Voters List (DPT), Additional DPT (DPTb), and the Special Voters List (DPK) at the mentioned polling stations. Additionally, the Petitioner claimed that the KPU failed to match the number of ballots in the ballot box with the number of voters present on the model C voter attendance list, and identified several other issues related to the recount process.
In its petitum, the Golkar Party requested the Court to annul KPU Decree No. 1050 of 2024 concerning the election results for Dapil Lahat 4 and the membership of the Lahat Regency DPRD. The Golkar Party also sought an order from the Court for the KPU to recount the ballots at polling stations 1 and 2 of Tanjung Kurung Ulu Village, polling station 2 of Tanjung Menang Village, polling station 1 and polling station 2 of Padang Perigi Village, and polling station 1 of Tanjung Kurung Ilir Village in Tanjung Tebat Subdistrict. The recount should be conducted in accordance with KPU Regulation Number 25 of 2023 concerning Voting and Vote Counting in Elections, as well as KPU Decree Number 66 of 2024 concerning Technical Guidelines for the Implementation of Voting and Vote Counting in Elections, amended by KPU Decree Number 216 of 2024. The Golkar Party requested that the Court determine the correct vote count, which they assert to be 8,893 votes for their party.
This case is a continuation of Case Number 275-01-05-06/PHPU.DPR-DPRD-XXII/2024, where the Golkar Party was a Related Party and the Petitioner was the National Democratic Party (Nasdem). The hearing was conducted by Panel 3, led by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat, with Constitutional Justices Anwar Usman and Enny Nurbaningsih.
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Author: Mimi Kartika.
Editor : N. Rosi.
PR : Tiara Agustina.
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.
Friday, August 16, 2024 | 17:43 WIB 30