Wahyu Ningsih (center) testifying on behalf of the Labuhanbatu KPU alongside legal counsels at the examination hearing for case No. 59/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 Labuhanbatu regent election results dispute to hear the Respondent, the Relevant Party, and Bawaslu, Thursday (1/23/2025). Photo by MKRI/Teguh.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) – The Labuhanbatu Regency Elections Commission (KPU) as Respondent denied the arguments made by Candidate Pair Number 3 Hendri Syahputra Daulay and Ellya Rosa Siregar (Petitioners) on voters who voted more than once at the same or different polling stations. This was conveyed at the examination hearing for Case No. 59/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on Thursday, January 23, 2025. The agenda of this hearing was to hear the Respondent’s response and testimonies by the Relevant Party and Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body) as well as to validate evidence.

The Respondent’s legal counsel Luhut Parlinggoman Siahaan explained that the special voters list (DPK) and additional final voters list (DPTb) in the 2024 Labuhanbatu regent election were in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations. In principle, voters not listed in the final voters list (DPT) but voted using a resident identity card (e-KTP), also known as special voters, amounting to 1,722 people could not be categorized as a violation as long as the voting had been carried out in accordance with the KPU Regulation (PKPU) No. 7 of 2024.

“Special voters list (DPK) or additional final voters list (DPTb) does not necessarily mean that it allows more than 1 voter to vote more than once at the same or different polling stations and/or more than 1 unregistered voter to vote at the polling stations,” Luhut stated.

Siahaan also asserted that the 783 additional final voters in the 2024 Labuhanbatu regent election had the constitutional right to vote. This is guaranteed under Article 53 of PKPU No. 7 of 2024, which has provided a clear legal basis to ensure that relocated voters can still exercise their voting rights in accordance with the procedures stipulated in the applicable laws and regulations.

The Respondent requested the Court to reject the Petitioners’ petition in its entirety and to affirm the Labuhanbatu Regency KPU decree on the certification of the 2024 Labuhanbatu regent election results.

Also read:

Hendri-Rosa Allege Double Voting and Involvement of Officials in Labuhanbatu Regent Election

Candidate Pair Number 2 Maya Hasmita and Jamri’s (Relevant Party) legal counsel Masmulyadi also denied the Petitioners’ argument. According to the Relevant Party, the Petitioners’ accusation of double voting leading to the Relevant Party’s higher number of votes was irrelevant.

Therefore, in their petitum, the Relevant Party requested the Court to reject the Petitioners’ petition in its entirety and affirm the validity of the Respondent’s decree on the certification of the 2024 Labuhanbatu regent election results.

The Labuhanbatu Regency Bawaslu’s legal counsel Bernat Panjaitan provided the response to the the Petitioners’ claim that the Labuhanbatu Regency Bawaslu had received a report regarding double voting. However, on December 8, 2024, the Labuhanbatu Regency Bawaslu issued a notification of the status of the report, which state that the report was not registered because it did not meet material requirements.

Also read:

The Petition for Case No. 59/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025
Response by the Respondent
Statement by Bawaslu
Statement by the Relevant Party

Author               : Ahmad Sulthon Zainawi
Editor                : N. Rosi
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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