The examination hearing for the 2024 East belitung regent election case No. 98/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 to hear the Respondent, the Relevant Party, and Bawaslu, Tuesday (1/21/2025). Photo by MKRI.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The East Belitung Timur KPU (Elections Commission) as the Respondent denied the argument of regent-vice regent candidate pair 1 Burhanudin-Ali Reza Mahendra (Petitioners), who alleged that the cheap market program by candidate pair 2 Kamarudin Muten and Khairil Anwar (Relevant Party) had affected the Petitioners’ votes. At the hearing for case No. 98/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, the Respondent’s legal counsel Aulia Nugraha Sutra Ashary also explained that the Petitioners had registered the same campaign.

Aulia stated that the Respondent received a campaign notification letter (STTP) from the East Belitung Police on the campaign by the Relevant Party in the form of a cheap rice program. It is also known that the Petitioners had registered a similar campaign based on an STTP issued by the East Belitung Police.

“That means, in the copy of said STTP, candidate pairs 1 and 2 conducted the same activities,” explained Aulia at the examination hearing for the 2024 East Belitung regent election results dispute.

In addition, Aulia denied the Petitioners’ argument that the Relevant Party had committed political bribery through a cheap market program since their candidacy announcement. At the examination hearing of the Respondent’s response and testimonies by the Relevant Party and Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), and validation of evidence from the parties, it was clarified that the phrase “since their candidacy announcement” referred to activities in August 2024, while the cheap market program was organized before the registration of the candidate pairs, in July 2024.

“As such, the Respondent requests the Court to reject the Petitioners’ petition in its entirety and declare the validity of the Respondent’s decree on the certification of the 2024 East Belitung regent-vice regent election results,” stated Leny Septriani, another legal counsel of the Respondent.

Meanwhile, the Relevant Party’s legal counsel, Adetia Salius Putra denied the argument regarding the cheap rice program, stating that they were not the organizer of the event. Instead, it was organized by the branch executive board of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

As such, in their petitums, the Relevant Party requested the Court to reject the Petitioner’s petition in its entirety and declare the validity and legally binding nature of the Respondent’s decree on the 2024 East Belitung regent-vice regent election results.

On behalf of East Belitung Regency Bawaslu, Danny Sugara testified that said program had never been reported to them. Based on the East Belitung Regency Bawaslu’s supervisory result, the district elections supervisory committee also did not receive any report of election violations.

Also read: Bazaar Program in East Belitung Regency Questioned

Author               : Ahmad Sulthon Zainawi
Editor                : Tiara Agustina
PR                     : Fauzan Febriyan
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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