Heru Widodo, one of the Petitioners’ legal counsels, at the preliminary hearing for the Muaro Jambi regent election results dispute, Tuesday (1/14/2025). Photo by MKRI/Teguh.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — Regent Candidate Pair 2 Zuwanda and Sawaluddin (Petitioners) argued the prevalence of ineligible votes in the 2024 Muaro Jambi regent election. The phenomenon happened since many residents had not had their ID cards made at as many as 203 out of 796 polling stations across the regency.

Zuwanda-Sawaluddin took issue with this in the preliminary hearing of Case No. 139/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, held in panel 2 courtroom of the Constitutional Court (MK) on Tuesday, January 14, 2025.

“The votes exercised by the people who did not have the lawful right to do so happened in many polling stations. The Petitioners found the evidence in 203 polling stations across 3 districts,” legal counsel Heru Widodo stated.

Such a violation occurred due to the fact many people had not received their ID cards (e-KTP). Yet, those people were allowed to vote anyway. The Petitioners believe that it resulted in the vote inflation of certain candidate pairs and decrease of legitimate votes for them. The Muaro Jambi KPU (Elections Commission) was alleged to have enabled the violation, harming the Petitioners’ votes and benefiting other candidates.

In their petitums, the Petitioners requested that the Court rule the Muaro Jambi KPU Decree No. 1555 of 2024 on the amendment to KPU Decree No. 1385 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 Muaro Jambi regent election dated December 7, 2024 null and void and not legally binding as long as it pertains to the vote acquisition at 203 polling stations across 46 villages and 3 districts in the regency.

“[The Petitioners request the Court] to order the Respondent to conduct a revote of the 2024 regent election at 203 polling stations across 46 villages and 3 districts in Muaro Jambi Regency, Jambi Province,” Deddy Yuliansyah, the other legal counsel, concluded.

Author            : Ahmad Sulthon Zainawi/L.A.P.
Editor             : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR                  : Fauzan Febriyan
Translator       : M. Hafidh Al Mukmin/Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

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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