Afni Z. (Respondent) and legal counsel at the examination hearing to hear the Respondent’s response, the testimonies of the Relevant Party and Bawaslu for Case No. 73/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 concerning the 2024 Siak Regency election results dispute, Monday (1/20/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) – The Siak Regency KPU (Elections Commission) responded to the Petitioners’ arguments for Case No. 73/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 concerning the 2024 Siak Regency election results dispute. The response was presented at the examination hearing on Monday, January 20, 2025, presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah on panel 2, to hear the Respondent’s response, the testimonies of the Relevant Party and Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body), and to approve evidence from the parties.

The Siak KPU (Respondent) presented several rebuttals to the arguments raised by Candidate Pair 03 Alfedri–Husni Merza (Petitioners). One of the rebuttals addressed the accusation of pre-marked ballots before distribution. In response, the Respondent affirmed that the process of sorting and folding the ballots was conducted under the General Elections Commission (KPU) Decree No. 1519 of 2024 concerning election logistics management.

“The sorting and folding process spanned five days, from October 28 to November 1, 2024, and was conducted by a team of 70 individuals from the regency, who were appointed through a decision by the KPU secretary,” said the Respondent’s legal counsel Guntur Adi Nugraha.

The Respondent also denied the allegation of low voter turnout as they admitted that they had made a lot of efforts, including disseminating information in 14 districts throughout Siak Regency.

They also refuted the Petitioners’ argument regarding election organizers coming without ballot boxes. The Petitioners believe that these organizers had only brought ballots for one of the patients at the Rafian Siak Regional General Hospital (RSUD).

In response to this incident, the Respondent clarified that the KPPS (polling station working committee) members of Kampung Rempak Village had acted within their duties and authority, as the voter was hospitalized at the time.

“The KPPS of Kampung Rempak Village received a report that a [final voter] at their polling station was being hospitalized, so following the duties and authority of the KPPS, they and the polling station supervisor visited the voter to [help them to] vote,” said Guntur.

Candidate Pair 02 Afni Z. and Syamsurizal (Relevant Party) stated that their witnesses had not found any pre-marked ballots before distribution.

“Based on the C-result forms that we studied and the D-result form of the Siak Regency KPU, and the witness confirmation, at all polling stations in Siak Regency there was no such incident,” said the Relevant Party’s legal counsel Husni Thamrin.

They also responded to the Petitioners’ argument of 4,202 damaged ballots. They believe those were not damaged ballots, but invalid ballots.

Referring to their answers and statements, the Respondent and the Relevant Party requested the Court to affirm the validity of the Siak Regency KPU Decree No. 1120 of 2024 concerning the certification of the 2024 Siak Regency election results.

Bawaslu’s Recommendation

Meanwhile, at the examination hearing, the Siak Regency Bawaslu explained that three recommendations had been issued in the 2024 Siak Regency election. Two of these recommendations were based on findings from the subdistrict elections supervisory committee (Panwascam).

Meanwhile, one recommendation was issued by Siak Regency Bawaslu based on the Petitioners’ report, including a ballot box being opened in Kampung Rempak Village[1] , and the recommendation addressed violations of the code of ethics.

“The Siak Regency KPU has communicated this to us, stating that the KPU did not provide any legal standing because the KPPS’s term had expired when the recommendation was issued,” said a member of Siak Bawaslu Ahmad Dardiri.

Also read: Siak Regent Election: Alfredi-Husni Claim Low Voter Turnout and Polling Officials’ Focus on Taking Pictures

The petition for Case No. 73/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 can be accessed here.

Author            : Ashri Fadilla
Editor             : N. Rosi
Translator      : Syifa Amelia/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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