Rusdin testifying on behalf of Bawaslu at the examination hearing on the Mamuju regent election results dispute before panel 1 justices for case No. 207/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, Monday (1/20/2025). Photo by MKRI/Teguh.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) – The Constitutional Court (MK) held an examination hearing of the 2024 Mamuju regent election results dispute case No. 207/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025. The Mamuju Regency Elections Commission (KPU) as the Respondent denied the Petitioners’ arguments. The hearing on Monday, January 20, 2025 had been scheduled to hear the Respondent’s response and testimonies by the Relevant Party and Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body), as well as the validation of the parties’ evidence.

Candidate Pair Number 2 Ado Mas’ud and Damris (Ado-Damris) questioned the alleged violation of the utilization of earthquake disaster relief funds phase II for Mamuju Regency, sourced from the state budget, by Candidate Pair Number 1 Sitti Sutinah and Yuki Permana (Sutinah-Yuki). Responding to the petition, the Respondent’s legal counsel Wahyu Karsul denied any abuse of power by the Relevant Party Sitti Sutinah Suhardi, who is also incumbent regent. This is because Sutinah (Relevant Party) was on leave during the campaign for the 2024 Mamuju regent election.   

Wahyu explained that as a form of implementation of the law, the Respondent had ordered incumbents to file for a leave of absence. So, the Respondent ensured that both the Petitioners and the Relevant Party had campaigned without using state facilities.

“Both the Petitioners and the Relevant Party did not use state facilities in conducting campaign activities,” stated Wahyu before presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah on panel 1.

The Relevant Party’s legal counsel Tamzil asserted that the use of earthquake funds by the Relevant Party in the campaign as argued by the Petitioner was a blurring of facts. The real fact, according to Tamzil, was that when the Relevant Party delivered the campaign’s vision and mission, some people asked about the status of the payment of the earthquake fund phase II to the Relevant Party, and the Relevant Party gave informative answers. This was confirmed by the Relevant Party during the open debate.

“Regent Candidate Number 1, who is on leave outside the state’s responsibility and no longer has the authority as regent of Mamuju Regency, was still being linked to all actions and activities conducted by the head of the Mamuju Regency BPBD,” Tamzil asserted.    

Based on those arguments, in their petitums, the Relevant Party requested the Court to reject the petition entirely and to affirm the validity of the Respondent’s decree on the certification of the 2024 Mamuju regent election results.

Mamuju Regency Bawaslu member of Rusdin said that there had been no reports or findings of election violations relating to the use of earthquake funds did. In addition, the Mamuju Regency Bawaslu has conducted preventive duties by issuing an appeal that called on the Mamuju Regency Government to ensure that the distribution process of the earthquake relief funds phase II be conducted without harming or benefiting any of the candidate pairs in the 2024 Mamuju regent election.

Also read: Mamuju Incumbent Regent Allegedly Used Earthquake Aid to Campaign

Author            : Ahmad Sulthon
Editor             : Tiara Agustina
PR                 : Fauzan Febriyan
Translator      : Dinita Aktivia/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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