The Constitutional Court held the examination hearing on the 2024 Sabang Mayoral Election Results Dispute in Case No. 47/PHPU.WAKO-XXIII/2025, presided over by Constitutional Justices Arief Hidayat (panel chair), Anwar Usman, and Enny Nurbaningsih on panel 3

---

JAKARTA, MKRI - The Sabang Independent Election Commission (KIP), as the Respondent, refuted all the arguments presented in the Petitioners' petition regarding the Sabang mayor election results dispute in Case No. 47/PHPU.WAKO-XXIII/2025 on Monday, January 20, 2025. The Respondent's legal counsel, Mohammad Kamil Pasha, stated that the Sabang KIP had conducted the voting and vote counting in accordance with Aceh KIP Decree No. 51 of 2024, which set the schedule for voting and vote counting in the governor, regent, and mayor elections in Aceh Province.

This hearing, intended to hear testimonies from the Respondent, Relevant Party, and Bawaslu, as well as to validate evidence for Case No. 288/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, was presided over by Constitutional Justices Arief Hidayat (panel chair), Anwar Usman, and Enny Nurbaningsih on Panel 3 on Monday, January 20, 2025. Kamil clarified that no violations were found in the voting process of the Sabang city mayoral election, contrary to the Petitioners' allegations.

The Respondent also argued that the Petitioners’ request for a revote at six polling stations failed to meet the requirements outlined in Article 49 of Election Commission Regulation (PKPU) Number 17 of 2024. The Petitioners sought a revote at the following six polling stations: TPS 02 in Paya Seunara Village, Suka Makmue Regency; TPS 02 in Aneuk Laot Village, Sukakarya District; TPS 03 in Balohan Village, Sukajaya District; TPS 03 in West Kuta Village, Sukakarya District; TPS 05 in West Kuta Village, Sukakarya District; and TPS 01 in Anoe Itam, Suka Jaya District.

"Regarding the Petitioners’ argument on six polling stations, Your Honor, we found no violations, and it has been reported to the Sabang Panwaslih (election supervisory committee). However, the Respondent, the Sabang KIP, has not received any recommendations from the Sabang Panwaslih," stated Kamil in the plenary courtroom.

In the six disputed polling stations, voting and vote counting were conducted on November 27, 2024, in accordance with the principles of direct, public, free, confidential, honest, and fair elections. The Respondent also referenced the applicable regulations and laws, noting the absence of recommendations from the Sabang Election Supervisory Committee (Panwaslih) as evidence of compliance.

"Subsequently, Your Honor, the Petitioners’ argument questioning the vote results from the six polling stations is not supported by the Petitioners’ correct version. Therefore, it does not indicate any dispute over the results," added Kamil.

Furthermore, the Relevant Party’s legal counsel Zulkifli explained that Candidate Pair 02 Zulkifli H. Adam-Suradji Junus were declared as the elected pair with the most votes through a voting and counting process that adhered to the principles of direct, public, free, confidential, honest, and fair elections. He added that no errors occurred during the process that could have affected the determination of the elected candidate pair.

This is further supported by witnesses from Candidate Pairs 01, 02, and 03, who signed at all polling stations in Sabang City. The voting process was also supervised by Panwaslih, which operated within its authority as outlined by laws and regulations.

"[According to] the mandated witnesses of all candidate pairs signing all C-result copy forms at 60 polling stations in Sabang City, the Respondent has conducted the voting and vote count recapitulation in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations, with supervision by the testifier," stated Zulkifli.

Meanwhile, Sabang Panwaslih member Zulhelmi Bakri addressed the alleged violations at the six polling stations, stating that Panwaslih received six reports, five of which were not registered due to failure to meet the requirements. The remaining report could not be followed up as it did not involve any election violation elements. "Then, all witnesses signed the copies we received for every polling station; none were left unsigned," said Zulhelmi.

Candidate Pair 03 Ferdiansyah-Muhammad Isa (Petitioners) claimed that the voting and vote counting in the Sabang mayoral election were marred by numerous violations and negligence by the polling station working committee (KPPS) and polling station supervisors (PTPS) on duty. Due to these alleged issues, the Petitioners emphasized the necessity of conducting a revote.

The Petitioners categorized the violations in the Sabang regent election into three main issues: voting occurred outside the specified time limits, both voting and vote counting were not conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in the legislation, and some voters were denied their right to vote.

Author  : Nawir Arsyad Akbar
Editor   : Tiara Agustina
Translator     : Nazila Rikhusshuba/FS (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.

---