Legal counsels A.H. Wakil Kamal and Kamarudin Taib at the preliminary examination hearing for Case No. 267/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the Taliabu Island regent election results dispute, Tuesday (1/14/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) – Taliabu Island regent-vice regent candidates 02 Citra Puspasari Mus and La Utu Ahmadi have filed a petition for the annulment of the Taliabu Island Election Commission (KPU) Decree No. 188 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 regent election results with the Constitutional Court (MK). The preliminary examination hearing on the Taliabu Island election results was presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah on panel 1 on Tuesday, January 14, 2025.

In Case No. 267/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, legal counsel A.H. Wakil Kamal stated that the vote acquisition for each candidate pair was as follows: Candidate Pair 01 Sashabila Widya L. Mus-La O de Yasir (Relevant Party) received 14,769 votes; Candidate Pair 02 (Petitioners) received 13,546 votes; and Candidate Pair 03 Abidin Jaaba-Dedy Mirzan received 6,438 votes. Based on this vote acquisition, the Petitioners argued that there had been numerous instances of voters using their voting rights multiple times at the same and/or different polling stations and that some voters who were not entitled to vote had still cast their ballots.

“The Petitioners did exceed the threshold, but the difference in votes was only 1,123 votes, and it is suspected that violations occurred at 15 polling stations with a total of 6,290 voters. This significantly affects the vote acquisition of each candidate pair. If a revote is conducted at these 15 polling stations, it is likely the vote acquisition will change, and the Petitioners could potentially win the 2024 Taliabu Island regent election. Therefore, it is reasonable for the Court to postpone the implementation of the threshold provisions under Article 158 of Law No. 10 of 2016,” explained Wakil in the plenary courtroom.

For instance, at TPS 02 in Woyo Village, West Taliabu District, based on the C-results-KWK forms, the final voters amounted to 362 people. Of these, 307 exercised their voting rights, and there were 2 relocated voters. However, it was found that more than one voter exercised their voting rights more than once at the same or different polling stations, such as a voter named Agus Salim Liambana, who was registered at TPS 01 in Woyo Village. Agus provided assistance to a voter named Satiba, who was actually registered at TPS 02 in Woyo Village, by helping Satiba vote using his ballot without completing the assistance form. Similar incidents were also reported at other polling stations, such as TPS 01 in Woyo Village, TPS 01 in Salati Village, TPS 01 in Langganu Village, Lede District, among others.

Another violation reported by the Petitioners involved alleged vote buying or money politics committed by Candidate Pair 02, who provided a decree to the pair’s campaign team with a promise of Rp1,000,000 to voters, which would be given after they cast their vote. This occurred in eight districts: West Taliabu, South Taliabu, Tabona, Southeast Taliabu, East Taliabu, North Taliabu, Lede, and NorthwestTaliabu.

In their petitums, the Petitioners requested that the Court order the Taliabu Island KPU to conduct a revote at all polling stations across the regency, particularly at the following polling stations: TPS 02 in Woyo Village, West Taliabu District; TPS 01 in Salati Village, Northwest Taliabu District; TPS 01 in Pancoran Village, West Taliabu District; TPS 01 in Talo Village, West Taliabu District; TPS 01 in Buambono Village, North Taliabu District; TPS 01 in Langganu Village, Lede District; and TPS 01 in Nggele Village, Northwest Taliabu District.

Also read the petition for Case No. 267/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025

Also read: Taliabu Island Regent Candidate Suspected of Bankruptcy

Author              : Sri Pujianti
Editor                : N. Rosi
Translators        : Nazila Rikhusshuba/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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