The Petitioners’ legal counsel Arie Soleman Kohdong attended the ruling hearing for case No. 118/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, Tuesday (2/4/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) handed down a decision on the 2024 South Minahasa regent election results dispute case filed by Candidate Pair Number 2 Petra Yani Rembang and Frede Aries Massie. The Constitutional Court ruled the petition inadmissible. Decree No. 118/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 was read out at the ruling hearing in the plenary courtroom on Tuesday, February 4, 2025.

“[The Court] adjudicated the petition’s subject matter, declares the Petitioners’ petition inadmissible,” stated Chief Justice Suhartoyo reading out the verdict, accompanied by the other eight constitutional justices.

The verdict was handed down because the petition did not meet the threshold of the difference in vote acquisition between the Petitioners and the Relevant Party, Candidate Number 1 Franky Donny Wongkar and Theodorus Kawatu.

Based on Article 158 of Law No. 10/2016, a petition should be filed if the vote margin is a maximum of two percent, or in this case equivalent to 2,708 votes. However, the Petitioners obtained 43,607 votes, while the Relevant Party received 51,575 votes. Therefore, the difference between the two reached 5.9 percent or 7,968 votes.

Because the difference was above the threshold requirement, the Court considered the Petitioners not having legal standing to file the petition.

“According to the Court, the Petitioners did not have legal standing to file the petition. Thus, the Respondent’s and the Relevant Party’s exceptions that the Petitioners did not have legal standing were legally reasonable,” stated Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra.

Also read:

Social Assistance Controversy in South Minahasa Regent Election

South Minahasa KPU, Bawaslu’s Explanation on Social Assistance

At the preliminary hearing on Monday, January 13, the Petitioners argued that social assistance in the form of food staple and direct cash assistance had been distributed during the South Minahasa regent election. The Petitioners also alleged the involvement of state civil apparatus or hukum tua (village heads in Minahasa) and their staff.

The Petitioners argued about this in the petitums. They also asked the Court to cancel the South Minahasa KPU Decree No. 1571 of 2024 concerning the certification of the 2024 South Minahasa regent election results. The Petitioners also requested a revote at 401 polling stations in South Minahasa without including Candidate Pair Number 1. The Petitioners also requested the disqualification of the Relevant Party in the revote.

Also read:

Petitioner for Case No. 118/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025

Response by the Respondent

Statement by Bawaslu

Statement by the Relevant Party

Author               : Ashri Fadilla
Editor                : N. Rosi
Translator         : Dinita Aktivia/Yuniar Widiastuti (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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