The Petitioners’ legal counsels Sri Harini and Hendrichus Yossianto at the preliminary hearing for Case No. 165/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the South Manokwari Regency election results dispute, Thursday (1/16/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — Candidate Pair 01 Bernard Mandacan–Mesakh Inyomusi are no longer civil servants (ASN) but remained on payroll until October 2024. Regent candidate 02 Frengky Mandacan and regent candidate 04 Obeth Dowansiba remained civil servants until October 2024. These candidates should be disqualified in the 2024 South Manokwari Regency election.

The above argument was made by Sri Harini, legal counsel of Candidate Pair 03 Maxsi Celson Ahoren–Imam Sayfi’i (Petitioners) at the preliminary hearing for the dispute over the 2024 South Manokwari Regency election results on Thursday, January 16, 2025. The hearing for Case No. 165/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 was presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo (panel chair) and Constitutional Justice Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah on panel 1 in the plenary courtroom.

The Petitioners filed a petition to annul the South Manokwari Regency KPU (Elections Commission) Decree No. 1433 of 2024 concerning the certification of the 2024 South Manokwari Regency election results to the Court. The election was contested by four candidate pairs: Candidate Pair 01 Bernard Mandacan–Mesakh Inyomusi, Candidate Pair 02 Frengky Mandacan–Saul Rante Lembang, Candidate Pair 03 Maxsi Nelson Ahoren–Imam Syafi’i, and Candidate Pair 04 Obeth Dowansiba–Hengki Saiba.

The failure to investigate the validity of the candidates’ status in civil service reflects negligence, carelessness, and a lack of thoroughness on the part of the South Manokwari Regency KPU. Furthermore, the Petitioners asserted that not disqualifying these candidates violated Law No. 20 of 2023 in conjunction with Law No. 7 of 2017 and Government Regulation No. 94 of 2021 concerning Civil Servant Discipline. Meanwhile, Candidate Pair 03 had previously resigned as members of the Papuan People’s Assembly (MRP), despite having no obligation to do so.

“Based on the above explanation, in the petitums the Petitioners request the Court to certify Candidate Pair 03 Maxsi Nelson Ahoren–Imam Syafi’i as the elected candidates in the 2024 South Manokwari Regency election; to order the South Manokwari Regency KPU to release the certification decree of Candidate Pair 03 as the 2024 regent-vice regent of South Manokwari Regency, West Papua Province,” said Hendrichus Yossianto when reading the petition.

The petition for Case No. 165/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 can be accessed here.

Author         : Sri Pujianti
Editor           : N. Rosi
Translator    : Syifa Amelia/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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