Royal Langgeroni (standing), the legal counsel of the Petitioner at the preliminary hearing for case 182/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the Poso regency election dispute, Friday (1/13/2025). Photo by MKRI/Bayu

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — Regent Candidate Pair 1 Darmin Agustinus Sigilipu-Samsinar Z Moga requested the annulment of the Poso Regency KPU (Elections Commission) Decree No. 3802 of 2024 on the certification of the recapitulation of vote count results of the 2024 regent election dated December 6, 2024. The Petitioners argued that the incumbent Candidate Pair 3 Verna Gladies Merry Inkiriwang-Soeharto Kandar (Relevant Parties) had conducted inaugurations and rotations of state civil apparatus (ASN) in the regency government.

The preliminary hearing for Case Number 182/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 was presided over by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Anwar Usman and Enny Nurbaningsih on panel 3. There were four candidate pairs running in the 2024 Poso regent election, with Candidate Pair 3 declared as the winners acquiring 62,445 votes. Meanwhile, the Petitioners acquired 38,074 votes.

Royal Langgeroni, their legal counsel, explained that the incumbent regent had inaugurated and rotated ASN officers before and after the determination of the election candidates. This was in violation of Article 71 paragraphs (2) and (5) of Law No. 10 of 2016 on the Second Amendment to Law No. 1 of 2015 on the Stipulation of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1 of 2014 on the Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors into Law (Regional Elections Law).

Article 71 paragraph (2) of Regional Elections Law reads: “The Governor or Deputy Governor, Regent or Deputy Regent, and Mayor or Deputy Mayor are prohibited from replacing officials 6 (six) months before the date of determining the candidate pair until the end of the term of office unless written approval is obtained from the Minister.”

“Your Honors, there were two violations conducted by Candidate pair 3. The first is their violation of appointing [officers] as incumbents. The second is their abuse as incumbents in carrying out programs that benefit or damage certain candidates,” Royal argued in the panel 3 courtroom.

According to him, 75 administrative and functional officers and educational unit heads in the local government were appointed and rotated. The appointments and rotations were held on March 22, 2024, as mandated by Circular Letter of the Minister of Home Affairs No. 100.2.1.3./1575/SJ.

These were in conflict with Article 71 paragraph (5) of Regional Elections Law, which states “In the event that the Governor or Deputy Governor, Regent or Deputy Regent, and Mayor or Deputy Mayor as the incumbent violates the provisions as intended in paragraph (2) and paragraph (3), the incumbent is subject to the sanction of cancellation as a candidate by the Provincial KPU or Regency/City KPU.”

Moreover, Verna Gladies as the incumbent regent was accused of misappropriating the regency government programs for her own benefits. The programs include the distribution of uniforms to primary and junior high school students of Poso Regency.

"Your Honors, this distribution of free school uniforms were carried out during the election silence directly by the Education Department," Royal argued.

"From the evidence we gathered, Your Honors, this [distribution] was also a means of campaign for the incumbent candidates,” he continued.

Another violation by the campaign team was money politics, which was done to influence the election organizers and voters.

In their petitums, the Petitioners requested that the Court annul the Poso KPU Decree No. 3802 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 regent election results dated 6 Desember 2024. They also requested that the Court disqualify Verna Gladies Merry Inkiriwang-Soeharto Kanda from the election, to rule Darmin Agustinus Sigilipu-Samsinar Z Moga as the lawful winner of the election with 38,074 votes, and to order the Poso KPU to revoke or disqualify Verna Gladies Merry Inkiriwang-Soeharto Kanda from the regent election.

"[The Court to] order the Poso KPU to certify the Petitioners as the winners with the most legitimate votes of 38,074 in the recapitulation of legitimate vote count results of the 2024 Poso regent election," Royal concluded.
 

Author : Nawir Arsyad Akbar

Editor : Lulu Anjarsari P.

PR : Tiara Agustina

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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