Abdul Adam (center), the Petitioners’ legal counsel, at the preliminary hearing for case No. 122/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the North Halmahera election dispute through videoconference, Friday (1/10/2025) on panel 3. Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The North Halmahera regent-vice regent candidate 3, Matheus Strefi Fasimanjeku-Abdul Aziz Hakim filed a petition for case No. 122/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, asking the Court to annul the North Halmahera KPU (Elections Commission) Decree No. 388 on the certification of the North Halmahera 2024 regent-vice regent election results dated December 4, 2024.

Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat presided over the hearing with Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and Enny Nurbaningsih on Friday, January 10, 2025. The four candidate pairs competing in the North Halmahera regent election are candidate pair 1 Muchlis Tapi Tapi-Toni Laos (24,802 votes), candidate pair 2 Steward L.L. Soenpiet-Maskur Abdullah Tomagola (22,684 votes), candidate pair 3 Matheus Strefi Fasimanjeku-Abdul Aziz Hakim (19,188 votes), and candidate pair 4 Piet Hein Babua-Kasman Hi Ahmad (37,775 votes).

Before starting the hearing, Justice Arief explained that the Court has yet to receive the revised petition from the Petitioners’ legal counsel, Abdul Adam. The petition presented at the preliminary hearing should refer to the petition initially registered. Despite that, Justice Arief allowed Abdul to read the revised petition, which they had sent through a messaging application, but would take the matter into consideration.

In the petitums, the Petitioner argued the violation of the North Halmahera regent candidate 4, Piet Hein Babua. The candidate in question allegedly performed cybersex with a woman through his phone.

This disgraceful act, Abdul continued, is unacceptable for Piet Hein Babua as a regent candidate, considering North Halmahera strongly upholds religious values and local customs.

“[Such act] is disturbing for the North Halmahera community as it contradicts religious, social, and local principles and values,” added Abdul, who attended the hearing through videoconference on Friday, January 10, 2025.

In the petitums, the Petitioners wish the Court will annul the North Halmahera KPU Decree No. 388 of 2024. They also requested the Court to disqualify candidate pair Piet Hein Babua-Kasman Hi Ahmad and to order the North Halmahera KPU to do a revote by excluding the candidate pair in question.

Author               : Nawir Arsyad Akbar
Editor                : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR                     : Tiara Agustina
Translator         : 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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