The Relevant Party’s legal counsels M. Yoga Kurniawan and Septiani testifying at the examination hearing for the testimonies of the Respondent, Relevant Party, and Bawaslu for case No. 03/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the Empat Lawang regent election result dispute, Monday (1/20/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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The Relevant Party’s legal counsels M. Yoga Kurniawan and Septiani testifying at the examination hearing for the testimonies of the Respondent, Relevant Party, and Bawaslu for case No. 03/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the Empat Lawang regent election result dispute, Monday (1/20/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

JAKARTA (MKRI) — The length of Budi Antoni Al Jufri’s second term of office from August 26, 2013 to May 3, 2016 was 2 years, 8 months, and 7 days. This aligns with Article 19 letter (c) of the General Elections Commission (KPU) Regulation No. 8 of 2024 on the nomination of governors-vice governors, regents-vice regents, and mayors-vice mayors. It is evident that the Empat Lawang Regency KPU did not “eliminate the citizens’ rights” to become the 2024 regent-vice regent candidates. On the contrary, the Empat Lawang Regency KPU must disqualify any ineligible candidate and/or candidate pair.

The Empat Lawang Regency KPU’s (Respondent) legal counsel Muhamad Taufiqurrahman delivered the statement at the examination hearing for the 2024 regent election results dispute on Monday, January 20, 2025. The hearing included testimonies from the Respondent, the Relevant Party, and the Empat Lawang Regency Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu). Chief Justice Suhartoyo presided over the hearing alongside Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah in panel 1 courtroom.

The Respondent addressed the arguments of case No. 03/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, filed by the 2024 Empat Lawang regent-vice regent election observer, represented by Ruli Margianto and Anggi Aribowo (Petitioners). The Respondent emphasized that election nomination disputes are resolved by the election supervisor, the State Administrative Court, and the Supreme Court.

“The Petitioners’ argument regarding the length of the term of office has been addressed through the legal process following applicable laws and regulations. Therefore, there are sufficient legal reasons to exclude this case from the Constitutional Court’s legal considerations,” Taufiqurrahman explained.

Only Two Terms

Meanwhile, on behalf of Candidate Pair Joncik Muhammad-Arifai (Relevant Party), M. Yoga Kurniawan explained why Budi Antoni Al Jufri and Henny Verawati had not been nominated in the 2024 Empat Lawang regent-vice regent based on the provision for regent-vice regent candidates in Article 58 letter o of Law No. 32 of 2004 on Regional Governments, which limits regional heads to a maximum of two terms. Moreover, regarding the Petitioners’ question why the Respondent had not issued a certificate for them, it was due to legislation stating election observers as independent institutions, which did not apply to the Petitioners as they were not neutral in the 2024 Empat Lawang Regency regent-vice regent election.

Also read:

Questions Raised on Empat Lawang Regent’s Term of Office and Observer Accreditation

Length of Office Term Questioned in Empat Lawang Regency Election Dispute

At the preliminary hearing on Thursday, January 9, 2025, the Petitioners requested the Court declare the annulment of the Empat Lawang Regency KPU Decree No. 1325 of 2024 concerning the certification of the 2024 Empat Lawang Regency election results, dated December 2, 2024;

Martadinata, the Petitioners’ legal counsel, argued that the violations committed by the Empat Lawang Regency KPU had begun with the issuance of the Empat Lawang Regency KPU Decree No. 837 of 2024 on the announcement of candidate pairs for the regent-vice regent of Empat Lawang Regency, dated September 22, 2024. The Respondent intentionally violated Article 7 paragraph (1) of Law 10 of 2016 by hindering Budi Antoni Al Jufri and Henny Verawati’s opportunity as Indonesian citizens to participate in the election, citing a failure to fulfill the requirements. The reason was because Budi Antoni Al Jufri already served as regent for two terms. However, the Respondent did not check the Petitioners’ document of appointment and termination. Therefore, the Petitioners argued that the KPU Decree No. 837 of 2024 can be declared null and void and has no binding legal force.

The Respondent ignored the rights of citizens to apply as election observers in the implementation of the 2024 Empat Lawang Regency election. Without any valid legal reason, they did not issue an accreditation certificate from the monitoring institution, the Indonesian Center for Legal Advocacy and Human Rights, on the grounds that the Petitioners were not independent as an election monitoring institution.

Therefore, the Petitioners requested the Court to declare the annulment of the Empat Lawang Regency KPU Decree No. 1325 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 Empat Lawang Regency election results, dated December 2, 2024; the Empat Lawang Regency KPU Decree No. 837 of 2024 concerning the announcement of the candidate pairs in the 2024 Empat Lawang Regency election dated September 22, 2024.

Also read:

Petition for Case No. 03/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025

The Respondent’s response

Statement by Bawaslu

Statement by the Relevant Party

 

Author           : Sri Pujianti
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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