Darmadi (Petitioner) at the preliminary hearing of the 2024 Kerinci regent election results dispute in panel 2 courtroom, Friday (1/10/2025). Photo by MKRI/Teguh.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held a preliminary hearing for Case Number 125/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 filed by Darmadi and Darius (Petitioners) on Friday, January 10, 2025. The Petitioners, Candidate Pair 1, argued teacher mobilization as one of the violations conducted by Candidate Pair 3 Monadi and Murison in the 2024 Kerinci regent election.

The Petitioners’ legal counsel Deka Putera revealed that the teachers and principals were massively mobilized, as the vice regent Candidate 3 himself was a former head of Education Department of the regency.

“Vice regent Candidate 3 Murison has built a political support base by promising the status as PPPK (state civil apparatus with employment contracts) to junior high school principals, elementary school principals, and non-tenured teachers who supported him in the election,” said Deka as he read the petition’s arguments.

Deka also stated that the acting head of Education Department, Zafran, who was appointed not long ago by his brother Asraf (the acting regent) also expressed support to Candidate Pair 3. The Petitioners even suspected that Zafran’s appointment was intended to influence the entire staff of the Education Department, 54 junior high school principals, and 227 primary school principals to vote for them.

“The biological brother of the acting regent mobilized the principals and teachers of primary and junior high schools to vote for one of the candidate pairs,” Deka explained.

The Petitioners mentioned one of the forms of mobilization include the money collected from those principals and teachers to supply for the needs of the campaign basecamp of Candidate Pair 3, which is what happened in Kayu Aro District, Kerinci Regency.

“Money were collected from principals; some gave Rp500 thousand; some Rp1 million, it varied. [The money] was used for supplies in the campaign basecamp of one of the candidate pairs, Your Honors,” the legal counsel revealed.

The Petitioners alleged the massive mobilization of principals and teachers was a form of violation or fraud in a structured, systematic, and massive (TSM) manner. As a consequence, the votes acquired by Candidate Pair 3 should be declared null and void since the manner of the vote acquisition is in conflict with the laws and regulations.

“The vote acquisition indicating victory for Candidate Pair 3 is unlawful and violates the provisions of the law since it was obtained through unlawful manners,” Deka asserted.

The Petitioners requested that the Court order the Kerinci KPU (Elections Commission) to carry out a revote in all regions of Kerinci Regency. They also requested the Court to disqualify Candidate Pair 3, leaving the revote to be participated by the remaining Candidate Pairs 1, 2, and 4.

The petition for the Case No. 125/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 can be accessed here.

Author            : Ahmad Sulthon Zainawi
Editor             : N. Rosi
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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