Professors, academics, 1998 activists, pro-democracy activists, and university students visiting the Court to show support for its decisions, Thursday (8/22/2024). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.
JAKARTA (MKRI) — Professors, academics, 1998 activists, pro-democracy activists, and university students visited the Constitutional Court on Thursday morning, August 22, 2024. They conveyed their political aspirations and showed support for Decisions No. 60/PUU-XXII/2024 and 70/PUU-XXII/2024 on the Regional Head Election (Pilkada Law), which they believe is a step toward a better democracy.
“The Constitutional Court as the Guardian of the Constitution and democracy must stand tall to uphold the Constitution and democracy. We the people are ready to keep fighting to save democracy, the people, and the Republic of Indonesia,” said Wanda Hamidah on behalf of the crowd in the Court’s main hall.
On behalf of the Court, Constitutional Court Ethics Council (MKMK) member Yuliandri as well as spokesperson and head of the Legal Affairs and Registrar Administration Bureau Fajar Laksono welcomed well-known figures Goenawan Mohammad (poet and essayist), Ommy Komariah Madjid (wife of late Nurcholish Madjid a.k.a. Cak Nur, a prominent Muslim intellectural), Wanda Hamidah (politician, actress), Sulistyowati Irianto (professor of anthropology of law, University of Indonesia), Zainal Arifin Mochtar (constitutional law expert and lecturer at Gadjah Mada University), Agus Noor (author), Ray Rangkuti (political activist), and election activists.
Yuliandri appreciated their show of support to the Court. He asserted that the Constitutional Court and its Ethics Council are committed to maintaining their honor and dignity.
“[Civil society] is one of our constructs in maintaining the honor and dignity of the Constitutional Court,” he said.
Next, Zainal Arifin Mochtar, a constitutional law expert from Gadjah Mada University, stated that the Constitutional Court had uphold a better democracy through Decisions No. 60/PUU-XXII/2024 and 70/PUU-XXII/2024. However, the House of Representatives (DPR) responded by setting up a session aimed at amending the Regional Election Law without taking those decisions into account.
He stressed that the professors, academics, activists, and university students who came to the Court today did so to express their aspirations while not representing any certain group. Their goal was solely to show support for the democracy of Indonesia. Law professor of University of Indonesia Sulistyowati Irianto had also previously stated that they came to the Court not on command, but for themselves. She highlighted the fact that support for the Constitutional Court decisions had also spread to Semarang, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, dan Bandung.
“I would like to say that we gather here not for [former Jakarta governor] Ahok, nor for [former Jakarta governor] Anies, not for anyone else. We are here for the future of Indonesia’s democracy,” Zainal said.
In response, Constitutional Court spokesperson and head of the Legal Affairs and Registrar Administration Bureau Fajar Laksono expressed gratitude and appreciation to this civil society. He said that he would convey these aspirations and support to the constitutional justices. “[The justices] will follow it up. [We] are still waiting,” he said.
When asked about the Court’s plan going forward, he said that the Court had exercised its authority to adjudicate judicial review of laws against the 1945 Constitution.
“There were constitutional issues, there were norm issues. In those decisions, the Constitutional Court has adjudicated and provided solutions. It only speaks through its decisions,” said Fajar. He emphasized that after the Court hands down its rulings, laws are under the jurisdiction of the legislatures.
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The Court granted a petition by the Labor Party and Gelora (Indonesian People’s Wave Party) on the threshold for the regional head candidacy. In Decision No. 60/PUU-XXII/2024, it provided details of the threshold that must be met by a political party or a coalition of political parties participating in the election to be able to nominate regional head tickets (governors, regents, and mayors). The ruling was pronounced on Tuesday, August 20 in the plenary courtroom.
Chief Justice Suhartoyo, who announced the verdict, said the Court granted the petition in part. The Court stated that Article 40 paragraph (1) of the Pilkada Law does not have binding legal force as long as it is not interpreted that “A political party or a coalition of political parties participating in the election can nominate a candidate pair if it has fulfilled the requirements to nominate candidates for governor and vice governor:
- in provinces with a population specified in the permanent voters’ list of up to 2,000,000 (two million), a political party or coalition of political parties participating in the election must obtain at least 10% (ten percent) of the valid votes in the province;
- in provinces with a population specified in the permanent voters’ list of more than 2,000,000 (two million) to 6,000,000 (six million), a political party or a coalition of political parties participating in the election must obtain at least 8.5% (eight and a half percent) of the valid votes in the province;
- in provinces with a population specified in the permanent voters’ list of more than 6,000,000 (six million) to 12,000,000 (twelve million), a political party or a coalition of political parties participating in the election must obtain at least 7.5% (seven and a half percent) of the valid votes in the province;
- in provinces with a population specified in the permanent voters’ list of more than 12,000,000 (twelve million) people, a political party or coalition of political parties participating in the election must obtain at least 6.5% (six and a half percent) of the valid votes in the province.
To propose candidates for regent and vice regent as well as candidates for mayor and vice mayor:
- regencies/cities with a population specified in the permanent voters’ list of up to 250,000 (two hundred fifty thousand), a political party or a coalition of political parties participating in the election must obtain at least 10% (ten percent) of the valid votes in the regency/city;
- regencies/cities with a population specified in the permanent voters’ list of more than 250,000 (two hundred fifty thousand) up to 500,000 (five hundred thousand), a political party or a coalition of political parties participating in the election must obtain a valid vote of at least 8.5% (eight and a half percent) in the regency/city;
- regencies/cities with a population specified in the permanent voters’ list of more than 500,000 (five hundred thousand) to 1,000,000 (one million), a political party or coalition of political parties participating in the election must obtain a valid vote of at least 7.5% (seven and a half percent) in the regency/city;
- regencies/cities with a population specified in the permanent voters list of more than 1,000,000 (one million) people, a political party or a coalition of political parties participating in the election must obtain a valid vote of at least 6.5% (six and a half percent) in the regency/city.”
The Constitutional Court rejected the petition No. 70/PUU-XXII/2024 on the judicial review of the provision on the minimum age of regional heads as regulated in Article 7 paragraph (2) letter e of Law No. 10 of 2016 on the Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors into Law (Pilkada Law). However, it emphasized that all requirements for regional head candidates regulated in Article 7 of the Pilkada Law must be met before the candidates are determined.
“This means that, within legal reasoning, a study on the fulfillment of the requirement must be done before the determination of the candidate pairs. In this case, all requirements as stipulated in Article 7 of Law No. 10 of 2016 must be met before election organizers, in casu the KPU, determines the regional head candidates and their deputies,” said Vice Chief Justice Saldi Isra delivering the Court’s legal opinion at a ruling hearing on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 in the plenary courtroom.
Vice Chief Justice Saldi Isra also emphasized that if the election organizers, in this case the KPU, needs technical regulations to implement Article 7 paragraph (2) letter e of Law No. 10 of 2016, these regulations must comply with the material in the a quo norm. In addition, following the principle of erga omnes, the Court’s legal opinion and interpretation of Article 7 paragraph (2) letter e of Law No. 10 of 2016 are binding for all election organizers, election participants, and citizens.
“As such, if the election organizers do not follow the considerations in the a quo decision of the Court as a holder of judicial power authorized to settle election results, candidates for regional heads and their deputies who do not meet the requirements and conditions in question could potentially be disqualified by the Court,” he explained.
Author : Mimi Kartika
Editor : Lulu Anjarsari P.
Translator : 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.
Thursday, August 22, 2024 | 15:12 WIB 208