The Respondent, Usman Sitepu (Bawaslu) when giving testimony in the examination hearing for Case No. 130/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the Katingan Regency Election Results Dispute at the Constitutional Court (MK) on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) – Katingan regent candidate 03 Saiful admitted to receiving approval from the Minister of Home Affairs for the inauguration of 11 high-ranking pratama officials within the Katingan Regency Government. This statement was conveyed at the examination hearing for Case No. 130/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the regional head election results dispute at the Constitutional Court (MK) on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

"There has been written approval from the Minister of Home Affairs," stated the Relevant Party’s legal counsel Kariswan Pratama Jaya, before Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Ridwan Mansyur and Arsul Sani on panel 2 in one of the courtrooms.

The inauguration of the officials was conducted by Saiful in his capacity as acting regent of Katingan within the six-month period preceding the determination of candidate pairs, which is generally prohibited under the provisions of the Regional Head Election Law. However, this prohibition is exempted if written approval is granted by the Minister of Home Affairs.

Saiful and Firdaus ran as Katingan regent-vice regent candidates 03, whose victory was contested by Candidate Pair 01 Sakariyas and Endang Susilawatie (Petitioners). In their petition, the Petitioners alleged not only violations related to official appointments but also fraud involving the manipulation of the additional final voter list (DPTb) and relocated voters, purportedly to benefit the vote count for Candidate Pair 03.

However, the Katingan KPU (Election Commission), as the Respondent, denied allegations of fraud in adding voters to DPTb through the issuance of ID cards ahead of voting day. The Respondent clarified that the voters in question were eligible to vote as additional voters using electronic ID cards due to a change in domicile. Furthermore, the issuance of ID cards falls under the jurisdiction of the Population and Civil Registration Office, not the KPU.

"Most of them have the right and meet the requirements to vote because their ID cards have been moved to Katingan Regency or they have relocated to vote in that area or at that polling station," said the Respondent's legal counsel M. Ali Fernandes.

The Respondent emphasized that all witnesses, including those representing the Petitioners, did not raise any objections during the vote count recapitulation at the polling station, district, and regency levels. Consequently, the Respondent argued that the additional voter votes and the election results were consistent with the applicable laws and regulations.

Furthermore, the Respondent emphasized that Candidate Pair 01 filed their petition after the deadline. The initial petition was received by the Constitutional Court on December 7, 2024, while the Katingan KPU Decree No. 1722 of 2024 on the certification of the Katingan regent election results, was issued on December 4, 2024. The Respondent argued that the petition should have been filed within three working days, meaning the deadline for submission was December 6, 2024.

Meanwhile, the Katingan Bawaslu (Election Supervisory Agency) received a report of alleged violations involving voters not listed on the relocated final voter list (DPTh) but still exercised their voting rights at the polling stations by showing their electronic ID cards. However, the Katingan Bawaslu issued a report status, which concluded that the report did not constitute an election violation.

"And the reason is that there is insufficient evidence to show that voters registered in the C-additional final voter list KWK model form violated election regulations," said Katingan Bawaslu member Usman Sitepu.

The Petitioners, in their petitums, requested the Court to annul the Katingan KPU Decree No. 1722 on the certification of the 2024 Katingan regent election results dispute dated December 4, 2024 concerning the vote acquisition at TPS 03 in Luwuk Kanan Village, Tasik Payawan District; TPS 004 in Pendahara Village, Tewang Sangalang Garing District; TPS 003 in Tumbang Kalemei Village, Katingan Tengah District, Tewang Sangalang Garing District, Bukit Raya District, Katingan Hulu District, and Petak Malai District. They also requested the Court to disqualify Candidate Pair 03, certify the correct vote acquisition according to the Petitioners—namely, Candidate Pair 01 with 28,702 votes, Candidate Pair 02 with 20,257 votes, and Candidate Pair 03 with 28,621 votes—and order the Katingan KPU to carry out a revote at the polling stations in question.

Author  : Mimi Kartika
Editor   : Tiara Agustina
PR : Fauzan Febriyan
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.

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