Muh. Salman Darwis (second from right), the Respondent’s legal counsel at the examination hearing of the Banjarbaru election results dispute, Monday (1/20/2025). Photo by MKRI/Bayu

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — As the Respondent, the Banjarbaru City Elections Commission (KPU) delivered its response to the petition filed by Said Abdullah on the Banjarbaru mayoral election results dispute for Case No. 09/PHPU.WAKO-XXIII/2025 on Monday, January 20, 2025. There, they insisted on the Petitioner’s lack of legal standing to file an election results dispute case. The KPU referred to Article 4 paragraph (1) of the Constitutional Court Regulation No. 3 of 2024. In addition, the KPU stated that the phrase "as a candidate" listed in Article 71 paragraph (3) in conjunction with Article 71 paragraph (5) of the Regional Elections Law only applies to candidate pairs whose status is as election participants.

The Banjarbaru KPU noted that after being disqualified, the Petitioners should have taken a legal action and appeal to the Supreme Court. However, until election day, no legal measures were taken. The KPU also noted that the Candidate Pair 2 had resigned and was no longer involved in the election stage, so legally the candidate pair did not qualify as participants in the election. 

“After the Respondent disqualified the Petitioner’s participation, [the Petitioner] actually had the option to submit a legal effort to the Supreme Court, and until the voting was conducted, [the legal effort] was never taken. For the record, the prospective mayor candidate, as a unit, candidate pair 2 stated to resign and was no longer involved in the [election] organization. So, in that context, the candidate pair is not qualified," he explained before the panel chaired by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat.

As for the Petitioner’s claim for the 78,736 votes declared invalid, the Respondent judged the argument to be baseless and contradictory to the basis of legal certainty. According to the Respondent, the vote given to a candidate pair who has been disqualified cannot be considered valid because the pair has been canceled due to violations of Article 1 paragraph (3) of Regional Elections Law.

The KPU also confirmed that an illegitimate vote of 78,736 votes could not be single-handedly claimed by the Petitioner, because the vote came from various voter clusters divided into nine to ten categories. In addition, they argued that converting the invalid votes to the votes for the empty column (against) cannot be justified juridically or conceptually. From the beginning, the election was not designed in a head-to-head battle between a candidate pair and an empty column. Besides, the voters were not given sufficient understanding of the consequences of voting in various clusters that eventually lead to invalid votes. 

On behalf of the Relevant Party, legal counsel Unirsal asserted that the 2024 Banjarbaru mayoral election was participated by only 1 (one) candidate pair, because the other pair was canceled by the KPU on the recommendation of the Bawaslu. They also claimed the election participated by one candidate pair (in this case, the Relevant Party) was not against an empty column because the ballot had two columns, both of which still contained images of the candidate pairs, including images of the candidate pair that was disqualified by the KPU. Moreover, they believed that an election with a single candidate against an empty column had to be instructed by a KPU decree and the lack of such decree cannot be interpreted as a competition against an empty column. Finally, the Relevant Party argued that the presence of a single candidate without such decree should not be interpreted that the Petitioners are still considered as a Mayor-Vice Mayor Candidate Pair, even though their images are still printed on the ballot.

A member of Banjarbaru Bawaslu Bahrani explained in the hearing that Bawaslu had received and followed up the incoming report. They had forwarded their recommendations to the South Kalimantan KPU for further investigation. Subsequently, the South Kalimantan KPU and the Banjarbaru KPU coordinated with the Provincial Bawaslu on October 30, 2024 to ensure the fulfillment of the elements in the recommendation that had been issued.

"The use of ballots at the time of polling and the vote count that have been completed, [the ballots still had] two candidate pairs printed on them. And as what has been conveyed by the Banjarbaru KPU, they were still waiting for the instruction or coordination and consultation from the leaders above them,” he explained.

As a precautionary measure, the Bawaslu had issued an advisory letter No. 058/PM.00.02/K.KS-12/11/2024 in November 14, 2024, which requested the Banjarbaru KPU to ensure that campaign props in public facilities are brought into order in coordination with the local government.

In the coordination meeting, the Banjarbaru KPU reported that they were still waiting for further direction from the Provincial KPU and the Central KPU on the use of ballots that have been printed with two candidate pairs, although one of them has been disqualified. On November 23, 2024, after the publication of technical guidance on polling and vote count, Bawaslu conducted a coordination again related to dissemination of information to voters at polling stations (TPS).

Banjarbaru Vice Mayor Candidate 2 Said Abdullah had previously filed a petition of the city’s election result dispute to the Court.

In the preliminary hearing presided over by Constitutional Justices Arief Hidayat (panel chair), Enny Nurbaningsih, and Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh, the Petitioner’s legal counsel Andzar stated that during the campaign, the Respondent had disqualified the Petitioner for violating the election administrative regulation. The Respondent later issued a decree No. 124 of 2024 on the Disqualification of Muhammad Aditya Mufti Ariffin and Said Abdullah as the 2024 Banjarbaru mayor-vice mayoral candidate dated October 31, 2024

“Based on Bawaslu’s recommendation, first of all, there was no order to disqualify. Secondly, the General Election Commission (KPU) disqualified both candidates, Your Honors, despite the Petitioner not being reported to Bawaslu. [Thus, the reported party was] only the mayor who was the incumbent at that time,” added Andzar.

According to the Petitioner, KPU Decree No. 124/2024 was not based on the recommendation of the South Kalimantan Bawaslu which only stipulated “Recommending the Violations of Administration Election”, instead of the disqualification of the Petitioner as the city’s mayor-vice mayor candidate pair. The Petitioner alleged the Respondent failed to prepare a legal review before the plenary meeting following the Bawaslu recommendation.

As such, the Petitioner requests the Court to declare null or invalid the Banjarbaru City KPU Decree No. 191 of 2024 on the Certification of Banjarbaru Mayor-Vice Mayor Election Result dated December 2, 2024. Not only that, the Petitioner requested that the Court declare a null and void decision of the Banjarbaru City election Commission No. 124 year 2024 all about the cancellation of said Abdullah as Vice Mayor of Banjarbaru in 2024 dated October 31, 2024. The Petitioner also requests the Court to revoke the Banjarbaru City KPU Decree No. 124 of 2024 relevant to the disqualification of 2024 mayoral candidate Said Abdullah dated October 31, 2024.

Author : Utami Argawati

Editor : Fitri Yuliana

PR : Tiara Agustina

Translator : M. Hafidh Al Mukmin/FS

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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