The President’s proxy at a judicial review hearing of the Election Law asking that the testimony be delayed, Wednesday (10/2/2024). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held a hearing for cases No. 62, 87, and 101/PUU-XXII/2024 on the judicial review of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections (Election Law) on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 in the plenary courtroom.

The hearing was supposed to present the testimonies of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Government, and political parties contesting in the election. However, the House and the Government asked for a delay. Chief Justice Suhartoyo said that both asked the hearing be delayed until after the inauguration of the elected president and vice president, while Gerindra (the Great Movement Party) and PKB (National Awakening Party) followed the Court’s schedule.

“Therefore, the Court hereby schedules a delay of hearing until Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at 10:30 WIB to hear the House, the Government, and five political parties already summoned for today’s hearing,” he said.

In response, the Government’s proxy Purwoko stated that they would need some time to coordinate and finalize the testimony.

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Four Students Challenge Limits of Open Legal Policy and Presidential Threshold

Four Students Revise Petition on Open Legal Policy and Presidential Threshold

In case No. 62/PUU-XXII/2024, Enika Maya Oktavia and several other students of the Sharia and Law Faculty of the State Islamic University (UIN) Sunan Kalijaga argue that they have suffered constitutional impairment due to the enforcement of the provision on the presidential threshold, which requires presidential tickets to rally support from political parties. They believe this has harmed democracy as it restricts their right to elect a president whose political views align with theirs or restricts their political support for a presidential ticket.

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Lecturers Request to Review Presidential Threshold Requirements

Four Lecturers Propose New Interpretations of Presidential Threshold

Meanwhile, in case No. 87/PUU-XXII/2024, former Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body) chairman Muhammad, Dian Fitri Sabrina, S. Muchtadin Al Attas, and Muhammad Saad—who are all lecturers and election activists—argue that the provisions on threshold makes only the election elite who secured high number of votes in the previous election have the right to nominate presidential and vice-presidential candidates. These provisions have restricted political parties participating in the election who do not want form any coalition but did not win a high percentage of votes.

Also read:

Election Observers Challenge Presidential Threshold

Presidential Threshold Considered Ignoring Vote Distribution

The Petitioners of case No. 101/PUU-XXII/2024)—the Network for Democracy and Electoral Integrity (Netgrit) represented by Hadar Nafis Gumay as well as Titi Anggraini (Petitioners I and II)— believe the purpose of the presidential threshold is inconsistent with the empirical facts and its destructive impacts on the presidential system, which is against Article 22E paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution.

In their petitum, the Petitioners request that the Court interpret Article 222 of the Election Law as, “A Presidential Candidate Ticket shall be nominated by a Political Party or a Coalition Contesting in an Election that has seats in the DPR and/or a Coalition of Political Parties Contesting in the Election that does not have any seat in the DPR consisting of at least 20% (twenty percent) of all the Political Parties Contesting in the Election of members of the DPR” or to declare it conditionally constitutional to apply on the 2029 election and the elections after as long as the following changes to the provision have been made: “a. A Presidential Candidate Ticket shall be nominated by a Political Party or a Coalition Contesting in an Election that has seats in the DPR; and b. A Presidential Candidate Ticket shall be nominated by a Coalition of Political Parties Contesting in the Election that do not have any seat in the DPR; and c. A Presidential Candidate Ticket shall be nominated by a Coalition of Political Parties Contesting in the Election that do not have any seat in the DPR with a threshold set by the legislatures.”

Author            : Utami Argawati
Editor             : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR                 : Raisa Ayuditha Marsaulina
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.

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