The Petitioner’s legal counsel Erpin Yuliono attending the preliminary hearing for Case No. 277/PHPU.WAKO-XXIII/2025 on Malang City mayoral election results dispute, Wednesday (1/8/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — Budhy Pakarti, an individual Indonesian citizen, filed a petition to the Court requesting for an annulment of the Malang City KPU (Elections Commission) Decree No. 629 of 2024 dated December 3, 2024 on the certification of Malang City election results. Chief Justice Suhartoyo with panel 1 members Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah held the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, January 8, 2025.

The Petitioner’s legal counsel, Erpin Yuliono, stated that petition was based on Article 454 paragraph (3) of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections, which reads, “Reports of election violations shall be direct reports by Indonesian citizens who have the right to vote, election candidates, and election observers addressed to Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body), Provincial Bawaslu, Regency/City Bawaslu, Panwaslu (elections supervisory committee), Village Panwaslu, Foreign Panwaslu and/or Polling Stations Supervisors at each election stage.”

In August 2024, the Petitioner, a democracy observer in Malang City, received the Circular Letter No. 96 of 2024 on the interpretation of legal issues in the 2024 nomination of governors-vice governors, regents-vice regents, and mayors-vice mayors as guidelines for implementing election supervisory duties. This letter stipulates that any reshuffle of officials in the Malang City Government by the acting mayor six months before the incumbent’s announcement as a candidate are not allowed.

“However, in the Malang City Personnel and Human Resources Development Agency (BKPSDM), the Petitioner found an inauguration list of structural officials in Malang City Government dated August 9, 2024, containing 35 people, which should be prohibited according to the circular letter above,” Epin explained at the preliminary hearing.

In the petition for Case No. 277/PHPU.WAKO-XXIII/2025, the Petitioner requested the Court to invalidate the reshuffle of 96 officials and supervisors in the Malang City Government on May 3-4, 2024 and 35 officials and supervisors on August 9, 2024 by Wahyu Hidayat, candidate 01 for mayor-vice mayor in the 2024 Malang City election, as a violation of Law No. 10 of 2016 and the Bawaslu Circular Letter No. 96 of 2024. As such, the candidate pair must be disqualified.

The petition for case No. 277/PHPU.WAKO-XXIII/2025 can be accessed here.

Author            : Sri Pujianti
Editor            : N. Rosi
Translators     : Ryan Alfian/Yuniar Widiastuti (RA)

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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