Heru Widodo, the Petitioners’ legal counsel at the preliminary hearing of the Mahakam Ulu regent election results dispute, Friday (1/10/2025). Photo by MKRI/Teguh.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held the preliminary hearing for the Case No. 224/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 Mahakam Ulu regent election results dispute on Friday, January 10, 2025. Candidate Pair 2 Novita Bulan and Artya Fathra Marthin (Bulan-Fathra) as the Petitioners argued the violations committed by Candidate Pair 3 Owena Mayang Shari and Stanislaus Liah in the form of the involvement of Mahakam Ulu Regent who is the biological father of Regent Candidate 3.

“The difference in votes between the Petitioners and Candidate Pair 3 was due to the violations involving Regent Candidate 3’s biological father, the current sitting Mahakam Ulu Regent, who abused the authority and misappropriated the programs and budgets of the regency government,” argued Heru Widodo, the legal counsel.

Heru stated that the sitting regent had intentionally planned to abuse his authority, programs, and activities to support his daughter, Regent Candidate 3, leveraging official government events for this purpose. During a technical guidance session for Regency-Owned Enterprises (BUMK) of Mahakam Ulu Regency held in Yogyakarta on July 29, 2024, the regent openly expressed his preference and instructed participants to support his daughter.

“There was a recording of the Regent delivering instructions to the technical guidance participants in supporting his daughter as a regent candidate of Mahakam Ulu,” Heru revealed while delivering the key points of the petition.

Heru also alleged the sitting regent’s endorsement is shown by him coming to the Candidate Pair 3's declaration a day before their registration. In fact, the Integrated Law Enforcement Center (Gakkumdu) of Mahakam Ulu has named the regent, his daughter, and two village heads as suspects of violations.

Therefore, in their petitums, the Petitioners requested that the Court order a revote in Mahakam Ulu Regency without the participation of Candidate Pair 3 or that the Court disqualify Candidate Pair 3.

Author : Ahmad Sulthon Zainawi

Editor : N. Rosi
Translator : M. Hafidh Al Mukmin / FS (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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