Mehbob, the Petitioners’ legal counsel, at the preliminary hearing of the North Barito regent election results dispute, Monday (1/13/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

---

JAKARTA (MKRI) — North Barito Regent Candidate Pair 2 Akhmad Gunadi Nadalsyah and Sastra Jaya mentioned election violations at the regent election results dispute hearing on Monday, January 13, 2025. Nadalsyah-Sastra as the Petitioners for Case Number 28/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 attended the preliminary hearing, which was presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah.

The case positions the North Barito KPU (Elections Commission) as the Respondent and regent-deputy regent candidate Gogo Purman Jaya and Hendro Nakalelo as the Relevant Party.

The violations as argued by the Petitioners were related to numerous voters not showing their resident identity card (KTP) at the polling stations (TPS). One of the cases was at TPS 04 of Malawaken Village, Teweh Baru District.

“The casting of votes without having to show ID cards or other voter IDs happened between 8:00 and 11:00 WIB,” said legal counsel Mehbob while reading the petition’s arguments.

According to the Petitioners, the Teweh Baru district election supervisory committee (Panwascam) had briefly suspended the polling and asked the voters to bring their IDs. Yet, when they returned with their IDs, the polling station was closed before 1 PM—the designated closing time. This resulted in their loss of voting rights and violated Article 19 paragraphs (1) and (2) of KPU Regulation No. 17 of 2004.

“The voters had been in line and had handed in their C1-notice to the polling station working committee (KPPS). They retrieved their IDs but lost their voting rights because the polling station had been closed when they returned,” Mehbob added.

The Petitioners claimed to have reported the violation to the North Barito Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body), which then issued recommendation No. 226/PP.01.02/K/KH-03/12/2024 for a revote, which KPU did not implement.

Another issue raised by the Petitioners was the unlawful double voting, which was caused by leftover ballot papers being distributed to the witnesses at TPS 01 of Karendan Village, Lahei District.

The Petitioners also alleged the alteration of vote count recapitulation at TPS 01 of Melayu Village, Central Teweh District. The C-result-copy form listed 437 voters, while the C-result-KWK form listed 439 exercised votes.

“The Petitioners altered the vote count recapitulation at TPS 01 of Melayu Village, Central Teweh District, on the Sirekap (the KPU’s vote recapitulation information system),” added Mehbob.

Based on those arguments, in their petitums the Petitioners requested that the Court annul the North Barito KPU decree on the certification of the 2024 regent election results. They also requested the Court to order KPU to carry out a revote in four locations: TPS 04 of Malawaken Village in Teweh Baru District, TPS 01 of Karendan Village in Lahei District, TPS 01 of Melayu Village in Central Teweh District, and TPS 12 of Melayu Village in Central Teweh District.

The petition for Case No. 28/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.

---