Harli (right), the Petitioners’ legal counsel at the preliminary hearing of the Mentawai Islands regent election results dispute, Friday (1/10/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held a preliminary hearing for the 2024 Mentawai Islands regent election results dispute with Case No. 230/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on Friday, January 10, 2025. The hearing was presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah.

In the case, Regent Candidate Pair 1 Rijel Samaloisa and Yosep Sorogdok are the Petitioners while the Mentawai Islands KPU (Elections Commission) is the Respondent and Regent Candidate Pair 3 Rinto Wardana and Jakop Saguruk is the Relevant Party.

In general, the Petitioners argued the polling carried out by the Respondent had not followed procedure. For example, the Respondent dismissed Bawaslu’s (Election Supervisory Body) recommendation for a revote, because it was withdrawn before its implementation. The recommendation for a revote was not implemented at three polling stations (TPS): TPS 8 in Sinaka Village and TPS 1 and 2 in Cimpungan Village.

“Bawaslu gave a recommendation, which the elections supervisory committee has not implemented, and then retracted it. We have never found any rule in which [Bawaslu] could retract their own recommendation,” said Harli, the Petitioners’ legal counsel, while delivering the arguments in the hearing.

The Petitioners also mentioned the use of vote by unlawful parties. For instance, allegedly, several voters at TPS 2 of Malakopa had not voted but been recorded as present. The Petitioners found a lot of similar cases involving attendance lists. “They were signed even though the person was away. Too many signatures were forged and this was found out only after the polling ended, Your Honors,” added Harli.

The Petitioners also highlighted the case in which one person had received nine ballots at TPS 12 of Sinaka. There was also a case in which three high school students voted without showing their IDs and used other people’s C-notice forms. The Petitioners’ witnesses at the polling station requested to record the incident and file an objection form. “However, the polling station working committee (KPPS) didn’t accept the objection form. It was their duty that they did not fulfill,” said Harli.

Based on the arguments delivered, in their petitums the Petitioners requested that the Court annul the Mentawai Islands KPU Decree No. 416 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 Mentawai Islands regent election results. They also requested the Court to order KPU to carry out a revote at 18 polling stations in South Pagai, North Pagai, Southwest Siberut, Central Siberut, and Sikakap Districts.

The petition for Case No. 230/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 can be accessed here.

Author            : Ashri Fadilla
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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