The Court has registered 309 cases on the 2024 Regional Election Results Disputes (PHP Kada) on Friday (1/3/2025). Photo by MKRI/Bayu
JAKARTA, MKRI – As of Friday, January 3, 2025, the Constitutional Court (MK) has registered a total of 309 Cases over Regional Head Election Results Dispute (PHP Kada) for 2024. Among these, 23 cases involve disputes over the election of Governors and Deputy Governors, 49 cases pertain to Mayors and Deputy Mayors, and the remaining 237 cases concern Regents and Deputy Regents.
The total number of registered cases is the outcome of screening 314 petitions submitted to the Constitutional Court. Some petitions were filed online through simpel.mkri.id, while others were submitted offline or in person at the Constitutional Court Building in Jakarta.
According to Pan Mohamad Faiz, Head of the Public Relations and Protocol Bureau of the Court, the discrepancy between the number of registered cases and the total petitions submitted arose because some prospective petitioners submitted their petitions both offline and online, resulting in duplicate records.
“That is part of our role in reviewing the submissions. For instance, if we identify a prospective petitioner who has submitted their petition both online and offline, we ensure that both petitions are not registered. If the petitioner and their legal representative are the same, we will only register one,” said Faiz at the Court on Friday (3/1/2025).
Once a case is registered, the Constitutional Court will deliver a copy of the petition to the Respondent, which is the Regional General Election Commission (KPUD), with a copy also sent to the General Elections Commission (KPU). Additionally, a copy of the petition will be submitted to the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu).
While delivering copies of the petition, the Constitutional Court will also identify and record Related Parties. The submission of Related Parties can be made from the time the case is registered until two working days thereafter.
“Once the case is registered, parties wishing to submit themselves as Related Parties have two working days from the date of registration. Since today is Friday and tomorrow and Sunday are holidays, the deadline will be on Monday,” said Faiz.
Following this, the Constitutional Justices will convene justice deliberation meeting (RPH) to determine the Related Parties. In accordance with Constitutional Court Regulation Number 14 of 2024, the determination of Related Parties is scheduled to take place from January 6 to January 14, 2025.
Therefore, the first hearing for the PHP Kada 2024 will be held on Wednesday, January 8, 2024, with the agenda of a Preliminary Hearing. As for the Answers and Information from the Related Parties, they must be submitted one working day before the next examination hearing.
“So, the Related Parties can attend first and listen to the arguments or points raised in the petition. After that, they will have the opportunity to prepare carefully,” said Faiz.
Panel Court Mechanism
Similar to the 2024 General Election Results Dispute (PHPU) case, the 2024 PHP Kada hearing will also follow a panel mechanism. This means that the nine Constitutional Justices will be divided into three panels, with each panel consisting of three justices.
Regarding the composition of the Panel of Justices, Faiz stated that it remains the same as in the 2024 PHPU hearing. Panel I will consist of Constitutional Justices Suhartoyo, Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh, and M. Guntur Hamzah; Panel II will include Constitutional Justices Saldi Isra, Arsul Sani, and Ridwan Mansyur; and Panel III will be made up of Constitutional Justices Arief Hidayat, Enny Nurbaningsih, and Anwar Usman.
This panel mechanism is implemented because the Court has a time limit of only 45 working days. "If we don't use the panel system in parallel, we're concerned we won't be able to meet the deadline. Therefore, the Court's long experience has prepared this system accordingly," said Faiz.
For the distribution of case handling, the Court ensures that it will be done proportionally. The division of cases will also take into account various factors, including the regional origin of the Justices. As a result, Constitutional Justices will not handle PHP Kada 2024 cases from their home regions.
“We take several factors into consideration to avoid conflicts or potential conflicts of interest as much as possible. For example, we consider the regional origin. Therefore, Constitutional Justices will not handle PHP Kada cases that originate from their respective home regions,” explained Faiz.
Author : Ashri Fadilla
Editor : N. Rosi.
Translator : Fuad Subhan (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.
Friday, January 03, 2025 | 19:27 WIB 143