Bawaslu representative Dedi Wahyudi testifying at the examination hearing for Case No. 139/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the Muaro Jambi regent election results dispute before Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra and Constitutional Justices Ridwan Mansyur and Arsul Sani on panel 2, Thursday (1/23/2025). Photo by MKRI/Teguh.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) – The Respondent, the Muaro Jambi Regency KPU (Elections Commission), refuted the petition filed by Candidate Pair 02 Zuwanda-Sawaluddin regarding widespread violation of ineligible voters in the 2024 Muaro Jambi regent election. The Petitioners alleged that ineligible voters had voted due to e-KTP (electronic identification) registration at 203 TPS (polling stations) in Muaro Jambi Regency. The Respondent responded at the examination hearing to hear the Respondent, the Relevant Party, Bawaslu, and to approve evidence from the parties for Case No. 139/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

The Respondent’s legal counsel Nurhidayat explained that voters at 203 polling stations spread across three districts in Muaro Jambi Regency were registered in the DPT (final voter list) and eligible to vote in the 2024 Muaro Jambi Regency election under Article 56 and Article 57 of the Pilkada Law in conjunction with Article 3 and Article 4 of the KPU Regulation No. 7 of 2024, which allow voters to vote by other documents if they do not have e-IDs.

“In determining those who are eligible and able to vote, the Respondent compiled a list of voters for the 2024 Muaro Jambi regent election and ensures that voters registered in the DPT can exercise their right to vote at the a quo TPS by adhering to the applicable laws and regulations,” said Nurhidayat.

Therefore, the Respondent requested that the Court annul the Petitioners’ petition in its entirety and affirm the validity of the Respondent’s decree on the certification of the 2024 Muaro Jambi regent election results.

Relevant Party Refutes Petitioners’ Claim

Aligning with the Respondent, Candidate Pair 04 Bambang Bayu Suseno-Junaidi H. Mahir as Relevant Party, represented by legal counsel Maiful Efendi, also denied the argument regarding the e-ID registration at 203 polling stations in Muaro Jambi Regency. They argued that it was incorrect and unfounded, as they had collected data and facts that showed that 291 out of the total 562 voters registered in the DPT had already had e-IDs.

Candidate 04 Bayu Suseno further stated that based on data and facts obtained from the civil registry office (Dukcapil), 271 voters had not had e-IDs but were registered in the DPT across those three districts. Yet, these 271 individuals were over 17 years old, meaning they were eligible voters according to Article 56 paragraph (1) of the Regional Election Law.

Hence, 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 Muaro Jambi Regency election results.

Meanwhile, the Muaro Jambi Regency Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body), represented by Dedi Wahyudi, testified regarding the argument which shows, based on the results of Bawaslu’s supervision, that 1,745 voters without identification had been spread across eleven districts in Muaro Jambi Regency. For the districts argued by the Petitioners, around 475 voters without identification were recorded as of November 20, 2024.

Also read: Too Many Voters without IDs in Muaro Jambi, Zuwandi-Sawaluddin Protest

At the preliminary hearing on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, Candidate Pair 2 Zuwanda and Sawaluddin (Petitioners) argued the prevalence of ineligible voters in the 2024 Muaro Jambi regent election.

Such a violation allegedly occurred due to the fact that many people had not received their ID cards (e-KTP). Yet, those people were allowed to vote anyway. The Petitioners believe that it has resulted in the vote inflation of certain candidate pairs. The Muaro Jambi KPU was alleged to have enabled the violation, harming the Petitioners’ votes and benefiting other candidates.

In their petitums, the Petitioners requested that the Court rule the Muaro Jambi KPU Decree No. 1555 of 2024 on the amendment to KPU Decree No. 1385 of 2024 on the certification of the 2024 Muaro Jambi regent election dated December 7, 2024 null and void and not legally binding as long as it pertains to the vote acquisition at 203 polling stations across 46 villages and 3 districts in the regency.

Author         : Ahmad Sulthon Zainawi
Editor           : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR              : Fauzan Febriyan
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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