Court Continues to Receive PHP Petitions for Regional Head Elections

Chief Justice Suhartoyo, accompanied by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra and Constitutional Justice Arsul Sani, held a press conference at the Lobby Hall of the Constitutional Court Building in Jakarta on Monday, (12/9/2024). Photo by: MKRI/Panji.

JAKARTA, MKRI – The Constitutional Court (MK) continues to receive petitions on the 2024 regional elections result dispute (PHP Kada), primarily concerning regent and mayor elections. As of this publication, no petitions have been filed regarding the governor elections. The Court will remain open for election result dispute submissions until December 18, 2024. Petitioners are allowed to file their petition within three working days after the General Elections Commission (KPU) of the respective region announces the official vote count results for the regional head elections (Pilkada).

"The time limit varies by province, but it is set based on the announcement of results. Petitioners have only three working days to file after the results are officially determined," Chief Justice Suhartoyo stated to reporters at the Constitutional Court Building.

After submitting a petition, the Petitioner is allowed to revise and complete it within a maximum of three working days from the issuance of the e-AP3 (petition filing certificate) to the Petitioner or their legal representative. Petitions that meet the stipulated requirements will be officially recorded in electronic constitutional case registration book (BRPK) via the e-BRPK system. Once recorded, the Petitioner will receive a Constitutional Case Registration Deed (ARPK) as proof of the petition's registration in the BRPK.

"After the revision, the petition will be registered by the Constitutional Court. Once registered, the justices will hold a case hearing in each panel and subsequently determine the hearing schedule," explained Chief Justice Suhartoyo.

Chief Justice Suhartoyo stated that the preliminary hearing for the PHP Kada cases is scheduled for early January 2025. He noted that the proceedings will closely resemble those of the 2024 Legislative Election Results Dispute (PHPU). The hearings will be conducted by three panels, each comprising three constitutional justices. However, he emphasized a key difference: PHP Kada cases must be decided by the Court within 45 working days from the date the petition is registered in the e-BPRK system.

Calculation of the Periodization for the Term of Office of Regional Heads

The Tasikmalaya Regency Regent and Vice Regent candidate pair number 2, Cecep Nurul Yakin and Asep Sopari Al-Ayubi, have filed petition on the regional election result dispute to the Court. The petitioner's legal representative, Faizal Hafied, stated that the petition focuses on issues related to the calculation of the term of office for regional heads.

Faizal mentioned that certain actions have not adhered to the Constitutional Court's decision regarding the term of office for regional heads. The Court has clarified that a term of office is counted as one period if the official has served for half or more of the term. Additionally, regional heads who have already served two terms are prohibited from running for re-election in subsequent elections.

"On the other hand, the latest PKPU (KPU Regulation) in 2024 permits this, which has greatly disadvantaged our clients, candidate pair number 2 in Tasikmalaya Regency, Mr. Cecep and Mr. Asep," said Faizal.

In addition, the candidate pair for Regent and Deputy Regent of Bireuen Regency, number 1, Murdani Yusuf and Abdul Muhaimin, have filed PHP petition to the Court. They allege that violations involving money politics were committed by one of the opposing candidate pairs.

"Violations of money politics in Bireuen Regency, which comprises eight sub-districts, form the basis of our arguments in the 2024 PHP Kada petition," stated the Petitioner's legal representative, Wahyu Pratama, after submitting the revised petition.

He has submitted a revised petition along with evidence in the form of letters, photos, and videos. The petitioner hopes to receive justice, especially after the Voters Supervisory Committee (Panwaslih) failed to address the issue.

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Court Continues to Receive PHP Petitions for Regional Head Elections