On behalf of Bawaslu, Desi M. Nomleni testifying at the examination hearing for Case No. 270/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the South Central Timor regent election dispute before Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra and Constitutional Justices Ridwan Mansyur and Arsul Sani on panel 2, Friday (1/24/2025). Photo by MKRI/Teguh.
JAKARTA (MKRI) — The South Central Timor Elections Commission (KPU) as the Respondent argued against the argument made by regent-vice regent candidate pair 4 Egusem Piether Tahun and Johan Christian Tallo (Petitioners). The Petitioners challenged the vote margin with candidate pair 5 Eduard Markus Loie and Johny Army Konay (Relevant Party) and accused candidate pair 1 Salmun Tabun and Marten Tualaka of vote buying. The Respondent delivered the statement at the examination hearing for Case No. 270/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025. Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra chaired the hearing alongside Constitutional Justices Ridwan Mansyur and Arsul Sani on Friday, January 24, 2025. The session was to hear the Respondent’s response, testimonies by the Relevant Party and the Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu), and to validate the parties’ evidence.
The Respondent’s legal counsel Ahmad Syahroni Fadhil refuted the Petitioners’ P-9 evidence, a video clip, deeming it groundless and asserting that the event did not occur and therefore did not constitute a violation.
In addition, he denied the Petitioners’ argument that the Respondent had been negligent by announcing Salmun Tabun, a former convict of corruption, as regent candidate 1. Syahroni stated that the argument was false as they verified the candidates’ registration documents according to Article 112 paragraphs (1) and 113 (1) of KPU Regulation No. 8 of 2024.
“Prospective regent candidate Salmun Tabun has announced his record as a former convict through online media Flobamora_News.com on August 27, 2024,” Syahroni emphasized.
As such, the Respondent requested the Court to reject the Petitioners’ petition in its entirety and declare the validity of the Respondent’s decree on the 2024 South Central Timor regent-vice regent election results.
The Relevant Party’s legal counsel Andhy Bresly A. Funu denied the Petitioners’ argument on vote-buying in the regent election. He stated that Titan Delan, who had allegedly committed vote-buying, was not part of the Relevant Party’s campaign team. The Respondent also did not specify the allegation with details such as when and where it happened, who were involved, and the vote-buying amount.
In addition, Funu denied the Petitioners’ allegation that the Respondent had been negligent by certifying former corruption convict Salmun Tubun as regent candidate pair 1. Andhy stated that from Salmon Tabun’s registration on August 29, 2024 until the election on November 27, 2024, the Petitioners never challenged his convict status.
As such, the Relevant Party requested 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 South Central Timor regent-vice regent election results.
Also read: Money Politics and KPU Negligence in The South Central Timor Election Disputes
Meanwhile, on behalf of the South Central Timor Regency Bawaslu, Desi M. Nomleni testified regarding Petitioners’ argument on vote buying. Desi stated that they had received a report alleging an election violation on December 5, 2024. In response, they issued a status report notification dated December 7, 2024, stating that the report could not be registered as it did not meet formal and material requirements, including having passed the deadline for report submission based on the prevailing regulations and lacking sufficient evidence.
In relation to the Petitioners’ petition on the Respondent’s negligence in announcing Salmun Tubun’s candidacy despite being a former convict, Desi testified that the South Central Timor Bawaslu had found an alleged election administrative violation dated September 20, 2024. They subsequently issued a recommendation on September 21, 2024, essentially ordering the Respondent to review the minutes on the administrative requirements review of South Central Timor regent-vice regent candidate pairs dated September 14, 2024.
The South Central Timor Bawaslu received a letter from the Respondent regarding the follow-up to South Central Timor Bawaslu’s recommendation. The letter stated that the Respondent had reviewed the news published in Flobamora_News.com concerning Salman Tabun’s former convict status and determined it satisfied the requirement as a prospective regent candidate. As such, the Respondent confirmed that all necessary documents of the regent-vice regent candidate pair Salmun Tabun and Marten Tualaka had met the requirements.
Read Also:
Petition for Case No. 270/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025
Respondent’s Response
The Relevant Party’s Statement
Bawaslu’s Statement
Author : Ahmad Sulthon Zainawi
Editor : N. Rosi
Translator : Ryan Alfian/Yuniar Widiastuti (NL) (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.
Friday, January 24, 2025 | 17:48 WIB 245