The ruling hearing for case No. 145/PHPU.WAKO-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 Palu mayoral election results dispute, Wednesday (2/5/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

---

JAKARTA (MKRI) – The Constitutional Court (MK) dismissed the petition for Case No. 145/PHPU.WAKO-XXIII/2025 filed by Palu Mayor-Vice Mayor Candidate Pair 01 Hidayat and Andi Nur B. Lamakarate. This decision was read out on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 in the plenary courtroom.

“On the petition’s subject matter, [the Court] declares the Petitioners’ petition inadmissible,” said Chief Justice Suhartoyo at the ruling hearing alongside the other eight constitutional justices.

In its legal considerations, delivered by Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih, the Court stated that, based on findings, the Palu City Bawaslu (Elections Supervisory Body) had received 140 reports. However, only two met the requirements, leading to Bawaslu issuing recommendations to the KPU (Elections Commission) regarding election administration violations, rather than obstruction of citizens’ constitutional voting rights.

“Furthermore, the authority to resolve the alleged violation of ‘obstruction of citizens’ constitutional rights to vote, systematically and unprofessionally carried out by the Respondent, resulting in many citizens being unable to vote and the low voter turnout in the 2024 Palu mayoral election’ lies with the Palu City Bawaslu. However, it has never declared the Respondent to have committed an administrative election violation regarding the alleged offense,” stated Justice Enny.

In this regard, the Respondent conducted 158 activities to promote community participation in the Palu mayoral election. As a result, voter turnout in the 2024 Palu mayoral election reached 171,446 voters, or 62.5%. In comparison, voter turnout in the previous election stood at 60%.

Moreover, voters who did not receive a voting notification letter (C-notification KWK model forms) did not lose their right to vote, as they could still cast their ballot at polling stations by presenting an electronic ID card, driver’s license, passport, or similar types of identification. Therefore, the voters referenced by the Petitioners were not hindered in exercising their constitutional right to vote.

The Court also considered the eligibility requirements for filing a petition on the election. The vote margin between the Petitioners and the candidate pair with the highest number of votes must not exceed 1.5% of the total valid votes, which was 169,145 in this case, resulting in a maximum allowable margin of 2,537 votes.

“The Petitioners obtained 43,390 votes, while the Relevant Party, as candidate pair with the highest number of votes, secured 107,166 votes. This resulted in a vote margin of 63,776 votes (37.5%), which far exceeded the required threshold of 2,537 votes,” Justice Enny explained.

Also read:

Court Asked to Disqualify Hadianto-Imelda Due to Alleged Administrative Violations

Palu City KPU: Officials Inauguration by Incumbent Following Regulations

At the preliminary examination hearing, Palu mayor-vice mayor candidates 01 Hidayat and Andi Nur B. Lamakarate filed a petition on the 2024 Palu mayor election results. They argued that Candidate Pair 02 Hadianto Rasyid and Imelda Liliana Muhidin should not have been eligible to run in the election due to alleged administrative violations that warranted their disqualification from the outset.

Author              : Utami Argawati
Editor                : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR                    : Tiara Agustina
Translator         : Nazila Rikhusshuba/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.

---