Faudjan Muslim (right), the Petitioners’ legal counsel at the preliminary hearing of the North Maluku gubernatorial election results dispute, Friday (1/10/2025). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — North Maluku Governor-Vice Governor Candidate Pair 3 Muhammad Kasuba-Basri Salama petitioned the annulment of the North Maluku Provincial Elections Committee (KPU) Decree No. 67 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 governor election vote counting recapitulation dated December 8, 2024. The decree declares Candidate Pair 3 Sherly Tjoanda-Sarbin Sehe as the election winner.

The preliminary hearing for the Case No. 258/PHPU.GUB-XXIII/2025 was presided over by Constitutional Justices Arief Hidayat (panel chair), Enny Nurbaningsih, and Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh on panel 3 on Friday, January 10, 2025.

The Petitioners deemed the North Maluku KPU decree in conflict with Article 27 paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. One of the violations argued was Sherly Tjoanda’s failure to turn in the medical checkup results following an accident on October 12, 2024 that took her husband’s life.

Hence, the North Maluku KPU as the Respondent was accused of preferential treatment to Tjoanda, who later went through a medical checkup at the Central Army Hospital (RSPAD) in Jakarta, unlike the other three candidate pairs who did so at the provincial public hospital (RSUD) dr. Chasan Boersorie in North Maluku.

“Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body) dismissed our reports,” said Faudjan in the panel 3 courtroom.

Tjoanda was the wife of Benny Laos, former Governor Candidate 4 of North Maluku. Following the accident that happened to both of them, the North Maluku KPU certified Tjoanda as the replacement governor candidate on October 23, 2024.

The North Maluku KPU was argued to have violated the fairness principle as stated in Law No. 10 of 2016 on the Second Amendment to Law No. 1 of 2015 on the Stipulation of the Government Regulation in lieu of Law No. 1 of 2015 on the Elections of Governors, Regents, and Mayors into Law (Regional Election Law) for showing special and preferential treatment to Tjoanda.

Instead, the North Maluku KPU named her Governor Candidate 4 to replace her husband who had passed away. This, the Petitioners argued, is in violation of Article 45 paragraphs (1) and (2) letter b of the Regional Election Law, which states that governor candidates must meet the physical and psychological requirements proven by a health certificate from a medical practitioner.

In their petitums, the Petitioners requested the Court to annul the North Maluku KPU Decree No. 67 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 governor election vote counting recapitulation dated December 8, 2024; to disqualify the Candidate Pair 4 as an election participant; and to order the North Maluku KPU to conduct a revote at all polling stations without the pair’s participation.

Author            : Nawir Arsyad Akbar
Editor             : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR                 : Tiara Agustina
Translators     : M. Hafidh Al Mukmin/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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