The Petitioners’ legal counsel Mohammad Fikri (left) at the preliminary hearing for Case Number 162/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 disputing the Donggala Regency election results, Monday (1/13/2025) in Panel 3 Courtroom. Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — Donggala Regent-Vice Regent Candidates Number 5 Mohammad Yasin-Syafiah have filed a petition against the Donggala Regency KPU (Elections Commission) Decree Number 1423 of 2024 concerning the certification of the 2024 Donggala regent election results dated December 5, 2024. In their petition, the Petitioners alleged three things: the partiality of village officials, distribution of food staples, and money politics.

The preliminary hearing for Case Number 162/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 was presided over by Constitutional Justices Arief Hidayat (panel chair), Anwar Usman, and Enny Nurbaningsih on panel 3 on Monday, January 13, 2025. Five candidate pairs contested in the 2024 Donggala regent election, with candidate pair number 3 Vera Elena Laruni-Taufik M. Burhan winning 61,883 votes. Meanwhile, the Petitioners received 50,040 votes.

The Petitioners’ legal counsel Mohammad Fikri said that the difference in votes between candidate pairs number 3 and 5 was due to the partiality of village officials. “We found that in several villages, village officials were not impartial, [they] gave real support to candidate pair number 3,” said Fikri.

Second, the margin was also caused by the distribution of staple food items as rewards to voters of candidate pair number 3. Fikri explained that Vera Elena Laruni-Taufik M. Burhan had given staple food items to the community before the determination of the Donggala Regency election participants.

The Petitioner found evidence that the food items were distributed in four districts and six villages: Mbuwu Village in South Banawa District; Labuan Toposo Village, Labuan Lumbubaka Village, and Labuan Salumbone Village in Labuan District; Wombo Village and Guntarano Village in Tanantovea District; and Banawa District.

Lastly, the Petitioners argued that campaign teams, volunteers, and/or individuals had distributed money to influence voters to support candidate pair number 3 in Kabonga Besar Village in Banawa District; Labuan Toposo Village in Labuan District; Kaliburu Village in Sindue Tombusabora District; Enu Village, Sindosa Village, Taripa Village, and Kumbasa Village in Sindue District; and Wani Satu Village in Tanantovea District.

“The money, 100 thousand to 300 thousand, was received by people in those districts,” stated Fikri.

In their petitums, the Petitioners asked the Court to cancel the Donggala Regency KPU Decree Number 1423 of 2024 concerning the certification of the 2024 Donggala Regency election results dated December 5, 2024; to cancelling the Donggala Regency KPU Decree Number 1423 of 2024 concerning the certification of the 2024 Donggala Regency election results dated December 5, 2024 on the vote acquisition at all polling stations in the villages where the village government apparatus had favored candidate pair number 3.

Furthermore, the Petitioners requested the Court to determine the vote acquisition for candidate pair number 1 with 10,241 votes, candidate pair number 2 with 26,060 votes, candidate pair number 3 with 55,590 votes, candidate pair number 4 with 11,083 votes, and candidate pair number 5 with 57,142 votes. Then, they proceeded to ask the Court to order the Donggala Regency KPU to conduct a revote at all polling stations in the villages where the village government apparatus had favored candidate pair number 3.

Author         : Nawir Arsyad Akbar
Editor          : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR               : Tiara Agustina
Translators   : Dinita Aktivia/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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