Dwi Putra Nugroho testifying as an expert for the Respondent at an evidentiary hearing for Case No. 20/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 Pesawaran regent election results dispute, Friday (2/7/2025). Photo by MKRI/Teguh.
JAKARTA (MKRI) — Controversy surrounding the validity of the high school diploma of Pesawaran regent candidate Aries Sandi Darma Putra reemerged at an evidentiary hearing on the 2024 Pesawaran election results dispute on Friday, February 7, 2025. The third hearing for Case No. 20/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 was presided over by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra (panel chair) and Constitutional Justices Arsul Sani and Ridwan Mansyur on panel 2.
Pesawaran Regent Candidate Pair 2 Nanda Indira B. and Antonius Muhammad Ali (Petitioners) presented Radian Syam as an expert. Radian explained that based on Article 45 of Law No. 10 of 2016 (Regional Election Law), the Pesawaran Regency KPU as Respondent is authorized to verify diplomas as requirements for governor, regent, or mayor candidates at the registration phase. The Commission also has to verify other administrative documents such as diplomas legalized by the authorized institutions. Regional heads must be at least a senior high school graduate or its equivalence, Radian said, as emphasized in the General Elections Commission (KPU) Regulation No. 10 of 2024, specifically Article 14 paragraph (2) letter c and Article 20 paragraph (2) letter d point 1.
Radian argued that for diploma verification, the authority and obligation of the Pesawaran Regency KPU are not limited to administrative checks, but also include factual verification by seeking clarifications directly with the relevant schools. He argued that this obligation includes ensuring the authenticity of documents such as logos, institutions, names of diploma recipients, signatures of authorized officials, and diploma numbers, as well as matching the data with the candidates’ identification.
“Indeed, when one takes a look at Law No. 10 of 2016, there are several requirements for regional head candidates. So, what a KPU must do, actually, in addition to inspecting administratively, is tracing or proving factually,” said Radian.
Moreover, he mentioned that the Lampung Office of Education and Culture guarantees the validity of diplomas as long as there are lost item reports and statements of absolute responsibility. So, based on these facts, the Pesawaran Regency KPU should have clarified with the candidates’ schools.
“What must be done, other than accepting the candidate pairs’ documents, is further ensuring whether their documents are factually correct or not,” he emphasized.
To strengthen their arguments, the Petitioners also brought witnesses Muhammad Farid and Laila Soraya. Muhammad Farid is a retired teacher who used to teach at SMAN (public senior high school) 1 Bandar Lampung from 1986 to 2023. The school was said to have issued a GED diploma for regent candidate Aries Sandi Darma Putra. Farid testified that the school never administer any GED exam.
“So, we have never administered [any GED examination], Your Honor, because senior high schools are not authorized to do so,” said Farid in his reply to Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra.
Furthermore, Farid reported that SMAN 1 Bandar Lampung had never had any student by the name of Aries Sandi Darma Putra. “As long as I was teaching at the school, there was no student by the name of Aries Sandi Darma Putra from 1992 to 1995,” he added.
Proof of Completion of Candidacy Requirements
At the hearing, the Pesawaran KPU (Respondent) presented Dwi Putra Nugraha as an expert. Putra explained that a diploma replacement certificate (SKPI) may be submitted to register to run in an election in place of diploma. It is deemed equivalent to an education diploma, being issued by the Lampung Office of Education and Culture, as regulated in the Regulation of Minister of Education and Culture No. 29 of 2014.
“The Pesawaran KPU’s candidacy process, particularly the examination of administrative requirements by reviewing the completeness and authenticity of documents issued by authorized institutions, is compliant with the laws and regulations,” Putra asserted.
Presumption of Validity
Constitutional law professor from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Zainal Arifin Mochtar and constitutional law expert Feri Amsari concurred with the Respondent’s argument. They testified at the hearing as experts for the Relevant Party, Candidate Pair 1 Hi. Aries Sandi Darma Putra–Supriyanto.
In his testimony, Zainal explained that the Relevant Party’s registration using SKPI is valid, as diploma-replacement certificates had been used to satisfy registration requirements. Furthermore, he mentioned a principle in the realm of state administrative law called “presumption of validity,” meaning that anything issued by the state must be deemed valid until proven otherwise. Therefore, whatever is stated in an SKPI issued by a state-mandated official must be deemed as valid unless proven otherwise.
Lastly, Zainal stated that the only mechanisms to overturn the principle in this case are either by the retraction of such documents by the issuing parties or by a court ruling, in this case by a State Administrative Court (PTUN).
“Whether one may go to the Constitutional Court [to overrule the validity], of course there are different opinions about it. However, if one goes to the Constitutional Court, in my opinion, it would be a waste if the Court becomes a ‘garbage bin’ for all administrative cases. Imagine if the validation of one matter has to be heard at an evidentiary hearing on the validity to seek evidence that might not be straightforward. Our legal structure already has [specialized] channels, please follow it,” Zainal argued.
Contradicting Statements
The Relevant Party also presented a member of their campaign team, Edi Natamenggala. Edi had been appointed to handle the issuance of Darma Putra’s diploma-replacement certificate in 2010 and 2018.
“I processed [the issuance of] the SKPI since 2009. I processed the certificate in 2009 and the filing began in 2010,” Edi explained.
In response, Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra questioned Edi’s account of the lost item report to issue another diploma-replacement certificate in 2018. According to the document, Edi reported that Darma Putra’s diploma was lost on March 1, 2018, even though a similar report had been made in 2010.
“Since you processed the documents, why did you, at the police station, dare to report that the loss was known [to have taken place] on Thursday, March 1, 2018? Meanwhile, you knew that the diploma-replacement certificate had been used in 2010. Please explain,” the deputy chief justice pushed.
“If I may be excused, Your Honor, I forgot. I asked [Darma Putra], which I also may not recall correctly, who then said, ‘On March 1, at this address.’ At that time, I received an explanation from [Darma Putra], so I went to the police station based on his account, to explain the loss of the documents needed for the registration,” Edi testified.
Also read:
Pesawaran Candidates Allegedly Lack High School Diplomas
Bawaslu, KPU: Aries Sandi Darma Qualified for Pesawaran Regency Election
At the preliminary hearing on January 9, 2025, Pesawaran Regent Candidate Pair 2 Nanda Indira B. and Antonius Muhammad Ali argued that the candidacy of Candidate Pair 1 Aries Sandi Darma Putra and Supriyanto was unconstitutional. They alleged that the Pesawaran KPU had facilitated the pair’s candidacy despite them not having a senior high school diploma.
In addition to the argument regarding the absence of a diploma, regent candidate Nanda Indira was alleged to have outstanding obligations to the Pesawaran Regency Government, according to the Audit Board of the Republic of Indonesia (BPK RI). While serving as the Pesawaran regent in 2015, Nanda Indira had a debt of Rp457 million, of which only Rp70 million had been paid, meaning that she still owes Rp386 million to the state.
Therefore, the Petitioners requested the Court to annul KPU Decree No. 1635 of 2024 and disqualify Aries-Supriyanto. In the petitum for disqualification, the Petitioners referred to several previous Constitutional Court decisions.
Author : Ahmad Sulthon Zainawi/L.A.P
Editor : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR : Fauzan Febriyan
Translator : M. Hafidh Al Mukmin/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, February 07, 2025 | 16:11 WIB 434