The Petitioners’ legal counsel Yansen Marudut Simbolon testifying at the preliminary hearing for case No. 154/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 Sarmi regent election dispute, Wednesday (1/15/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Sarmi regent-vice regent candidate pair 3 Agus Festus Moar-Mustafa Arnold Muzakkar revealed violations in the 2024 Sarmi regent election. The petition disputing the election results for case No. 154/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 was presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah on panel 1 on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.

The Sarmi Regency KPU (Elections Commission) serves as the Respondent, while candidate pair 1 Dominggus Catue and Jumriati acts as the Relevant Party.

The Petitioners suspected the Relevant Party of a smear campaign against Yanni, candidate pair 1. They claimed that a banner rejecting Yanni’s candidacy, due to her not being originally from Sarmi, had been placed on a pickup truck that circled Sarmi Regency.

“Despite the incident not directly harming the Petitioners, it was unprofessional, racist, and uncalled for as it undermines democratic principles,” said the Petitioners’ legal counsel Yansen Marudut Simbolon while reading the petition.

The Petitioners also argued the mobilization of religious figures to discourage voting for candidate pairs with certain religious beliefs.

Furthermore, the Petitioners alleged structured, systematic, and massive (TSM) violations of vote buying. For instance, during the Sarmi regent debate on November 16, 2024, customary figures supporting other candidates were given Rp300,000 in cash.

“[Such vote buying] intended to change minds, and vice regent candidate 1 distributed shirts to customary figures aiming for their endorsement of vice regent candidate 1,” explained Simbolon.

Another violation of vote buying, according to the Petitioners, was in the form of cash rewards to communities worth Rp100,000-200,000. The Petitioners stated that 7 out of 10 districts targeted for vote buying includes Sarmi, East Sarmi, Bonggo, Pantai Timur, East Bonggo, South Sarmi, and West Pantai Timur.

In the petition, the Petitioners listed 11 violations committed by the Respondent as the Sarmi election organizer.

The Petitioners noted several violations, including instances where the KPPS (polling station working committee) chair had voted twice at TPS 04 in Mararena Village in Sarmi District. Additionally, in Samorkena Village of Pantai Barat District, the Petitioners’ witnesses claimed that their right to vote had already been used to vote for other candidates.

“When the witnesses arrived [at the polls], their names had been marked and it was stated that they had already voted although they had just arrived,” said Simbolon.

The Petitioners claimed that the Respondent had ignored these violations. As a result, the Petitioners request the Court to annul the Sarmi KPU decree on the certification of 2024 Sarmi regent-vice regent election results and to disqualify the Relevant Party from the regent election.

Alternatively, the Petitioners wish the Court will order the Sarmi KPU to do a revote by excluding the Relevant Party.

The petition for case No. 154/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 can be accessed here.

Author              : Ashri Fadilla
Editor                : N. Rosi
Translator         : Ryan Alfian/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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