The Petitioners’ legal counsel Nasrul Jamaludin (center) at the preliminary hearing for Case No. 75/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the Parigi Moutong regent election result dispute, Monday (1/13/2025) in panel 3 courtroom. Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Parigi Moutong regent-vice regent candidate pair 3 M. Nizar Rahmatu–Ardi have filed a petition against the Parigi Moutong Regency KPU (Elections Commission) Decree No. 1850 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 Parigi Moutong regent-vice regent election result to the Court. They argued that regent candidate 5 Amrullah S. Kasim Almahdaly had not meet the election requirements.

“This [ineligibility] stems from his legal status as a former convict that has not go passed a five-year period as set in the legislation,” explained Nasrul Jamaludin, the Petitioners’ legal counsel in case No. 75/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 at the preliminary hearing for the Parigi Moutong regent election results dispute. Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat presided over the hearing with Constitutional Justices Anwar Usman and Enny Nurbaningsih.

The Petitioners argued that Amrullah S. Kasim Almahdaly’s five-year waiting period began after the Supreme Court’s appeal decision, as he faced criminal charges. Consequently, his eligibility requirements were not met during the candidate registration period on August 27-29, 2024.

Article 7 paragraph (2) letter g of Law No. 10 of 2016, supported by Article 14 paragraph (2) letter f and Article 17 of the KPU Regulation No. 10 of 2024, requires a five-year waiting period for former convicts before they can run for regional heads. Despite these provisions, the Parigi Moutong KPU still announced the candidate pair in the election.

This waiting period for former convicts aims to ensure that prospective leaders demonstrate integrity and a clean track record. This aligns with the Constitutional Court Decisions No. 56/PUU-XVII/2019 and No. 132/PHP.BUP-XIX/2021, which emphasize that candidates with criminal records must serve a waiting period, to allow the public to assess their rehabilitation and attitudes.

Vote Buying

The Petitioners further alleged that candidate pair 4 Erwin Burase and Abdul Sahid—former members of the Central Sulawesi Regional Legislative Council (DPRD)—had committed election violations. They allegedly used the principal fund for distributing social aids in the form of corn seeds, fertilizer, as well as for village hall construction and renovation for the benefit of candidate pair 4.

The alleged violations also include mobilizing village officials and governments, including village heads, to endorse said candidate pair. “The distribution of social aid using the DPRD’s principal funds occurred in October and November 2024,” added Nasrul.

In the petitums, the Petitioners request the Court to: (1) invalidate the Parigi Moutong Regency KPU Decree No. 1850 of 2024; (2) disqualify candidate pairs 4 Erwin Burase and Abdul Sahid and 5 Amrullah S. Kasim Almahdaly and Ibrahim A. Hafid from the election; (3) order the Respondent to issue a decree stipulating candidate pair 3 (M. Nizar Rahmatu and Ardi) as the Parigi Moutong’s elected regent-vice regent. Alternatively, the Petitioners requested the Court to order the Respondent to do a revote at all polling stations within the regency, no later than 90 days after the decision.

Author              : Utami Argawati
Editor                : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR                     : Tiara Agustina
Translators        : Ryan Alfian/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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