The Petitioners’ legal counsels Abdul Hanap and Muhammad Andzar Amar at the preliminary examination hearing for Case No. 242/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the Nduga regent election results dispute, Thursday (1/16/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) – Nduga regent-vice regent Candidates 01 Namia Gwijangge and Obed Gwijangge filed a petition to annul the Nduga KPU (Elections Commission) Decree No. 829 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 Nduga regent election results. The preliminary examination hearing was presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah on panel 1 on Thursday, January 16, 2025.

In the petition for Case No. 242/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, the Petitioners’ legal counsel M. Andzar Amar stated the vote acquisition of each candidate pair is as follows: Candidate Pair 01 (Petitioners) received 46,167 votes and Candidate Pair 02 Dinar Kelnea–Yoas Beon obtained 51,815 votes, with a total of 97,982 valid votes. However, the Petitioners contested this result, asserting that they had received 50,131 votes, while Candidate Pair 02 secured 47,852 votes, with a total of 97,983 valid votes.

Andzar further explained that the difference in vote acquisition was attributed to several factors, including acts of intimidation by customary community councils, political party leaders, and the campaign team of Candidate Pair 02. Additionally, the involvement of state civil apparatus (ASN) at the polling stations in directing voters to support a specific candidate pair as well as the reduction of the Petitioners’ votes at the polling stations, district election committee (PPD/PPK), and regency election commission levels, contributed to the difference.

“In Nduga Regency, the noken* system is used, so one district or one village discussed [the votes] first before filing it. There was a specific case, namely the deletion of C1 forms without implementing any recommendation from Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body) by Candidate Pair 02 and their team. There was also a relocation of polling stations designated by the KPU, and the D-result forms filled in by the KPU at the regency level were different from the C1 forms uploaded in Sirekap**. Due to such violations, one of the KPU members did not sign the D-result forms, so before the election was held on November 27, 2024, in Nduga Regency on November 26, 2024, the candidate pairs had known the vote acquisition because of the noken system. Each village had reported the results of their deliberations to each candidate pair, but the results were different because of the violations that occurred,” explained Andzar, emphasizing the main points of the petition.

Therefore, the Petitioners requested the Court to annul the Nduga KPU Decree No. 829 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 Nduga regent election results dated December 7, 2024, at 19:00 WIT, concerning the vote acquisition in 21 districts: Alama, Inikgal, Iniye, Mam, Mbua Tengah, Mbulmu Yalma, Mbuwa, Kora, Pija, Wutpaga, Wusi, Pasir Putih Paro, Nirkuri, Kenyam, Embetpem, Neggeagin, Mugi, Dal, Krepkuri, and Gearek. They further requested the Court to certify the 2024 Nduga regent election vote count recapitulation as follows: Candidate Pair 01 obtained 59,068 votes and Candidate Pair 02 obtained 39,914 votes, with a total of 97,982 valid votes.

Also read the petition for Case No. 242/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/202

*) The noken voting system is carried out by communities in Papua, either through public agreement on vote allocation or through the delegation of votes to a tribal leader.

**) The KPU’s vote recapitulation information system

Author              : Sri Pujianti
Editor                : N. Rosi
Translator         : Nazila Rikhusshuba/Yuniar Widiastuti (NL) (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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