Legal counsels Andi Syafrani (left) and Rahmat Hidayat (right) at the preliminary examination hearing for Case No. 284/PHPU.GUB-XXIII/2025 on the Central Sulawesi governor election results dispute, Monday (1/13/2025). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA, (MKRI) – Central Sulawesi governor and vice governor candidates 01 Ahmad H.M. Ali and Abdul Karim Al Jufri (Ahmad Ali-Abdul Karim) alleged administrative violations in the Central Sulawesi governor election. Such is the argument of the petition for Case No. 284/PHPU.GUB-XXIII/2025.

"There were administrative violations in the form of systematic and massive obstruction of citizens' constitutional rights to vote by the Respondent, leading to numerous citizens being unable to exercise their voting rights. This resulted in low voter participation in the simultaneous regional elections in Central Sulawesi, particularly in Palu City, Parigi Moutong Regency, Toli-Toli Regency, Sigi Regency, Tojo Una-Una Regency, and Poso Regency," stated legal counsel Rahmat Hidayat during the preliminary examination hearing of the 2024 Central Sulawesi governor election results dispute. The hearing was held by the Constitutional Court (MK) on Monday, January 13, 2025, in the panel 3 courtroom.

Rahmat explained that Candidate Pair 02 (Anwar – Reny A. Lamadjido) and Candidate Pair 03 (Rusdy Mastura – Sulaiman Agusto) allegedly committed administrative violations by breaching the provisions of Article 71, paragraph (2) of the Regional Election Law. The violations involved the inauguration of officials in the Central Sulawesi and Palu City governments within restricted timeframes, using purposes and procedures prohibited under the Regional Election Law.

Official Reassignments by Incumbent

Meanwhile, another legal counsel, Andi Syafrani, highlighted allegations against Rusdy Mastura, the incumbent Governor of Central Sulawesi and Candidate Number 03. He claimed that Rusdy Mastura violated regulations by replacing 127 officials within the Central Sulawesi Provincial Government, who were subsequently inaugurated the following day.

“This action was conducted without permission. Recognizing the absence of permission and the prohibition of such actions, the incumbent governor subsequently annulled the decree and submitted a request for approval to the Minister of Home Affairs. The approval was only granted on April 26, 2024, almost a month later. While this matter was reported to Bawaslu, no further action was taken regarding the report,” Andi explained.

Andi also emphasized the substance of the violations in question. He explained that Article 71 paragraph (2) of the Regional Election Law prohibits only the transfer of officials. However, in this case, the incumbent governor not only conducted transfers but also implemented promotions and office confirmations. The policy affected a total of 389 officials, including 125 administrator officials and 64 supervisory officials. Furthermore, he noted that the incumbent governor is currently in third place in the vote count.

A similar alleged violation was also reported at the municipal level in Palu City. The incumbent Deputy Mayor of Palu, who is Candidate Number 02, was accused of canceling the inauguration of officials, an action that was later followed by a re-inauguration.

Therefore, the Petitioners, in their petitum, requested the Court to annul the Central Sulawesi Election Commission (KPU) No. 434 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 Central Sulawesi governor election results. They argued that Candidate Pairs 02 and 03 were proven to have committed administrative violations as stipulated in Article 71 paragraph (2) of Law Number 10 of 2016. Consequently, the Petitioners requested a disqualification of these two candidate pairs from the election and the annulment of the KPU Decree No. 268 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 Central Sulawesi governor-vice governor candidate pairs, particularly for Candidate Pairs 02 and 03.(*).

Author  : Utami Argawati
Editor   : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR : Tiara Agustina
Translators     : Nazila Rikhusshuba / 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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