Ilham Saputra, the Relevant Party’s Expert testifying in the evidentiary hearing for Case No.174/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the Buru regent election results dispute, Wednesday (2/12/2025) in the Constitutional Courtroom. Photo by MKRI/Panji
JAKARTA, MKRI – On Wednesday, February 12, 2025, the Constitutional Court (MK) held an evidentiary hearing on the 2024 Buru regent election results dispute in Panel Courtroom 3. The case, registered as Petition No. 174/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, was filed by Candidate Pair Number 4, Amus Besan and Hamsah Buton.
Muhammad Rullyandi, The Petitioners’ expert emphasized that the amended 1945 Constitution functions as a “living constitution”, which means that the constitution maintains the spirit of democracy in a democratic state of law. He emphasized that the principles of honesty and fairness are the main foundations of the regional election conduct.
“If the principles of honesty and justice cannot be produced in the elections, then we have receded from the noble ideals of democracy and the true meaning of popular sovereignty,” stated Rullyandi. He added that the General Election Commission (KPU) and the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) must comply with constitutional values in conducting their duties and authorities, in accordance with Article 22E paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution.
Rullyandi detailed that the obligations of the KPU and Bawaslu are to cover all stages of the election, from updating the permanent voter's list (DPT) to post-voting, as regulated in various laws and regulations. The Petitioners consider that in the 2024 Buru Regency regent election, the KPU and Bawaslu have not been effective in conducting their duties in maintaining the principles of honesty and justice.
Dwi Putra Nugraha, Buru Regency KPU’s expert, testified that there were allegations of voters who were mistaken in choosing their polling station. “It is suspected that there are voters who are included in the category of the Transfer Voters List but choose the wrong polling station. This is because voters choose to cast their vote at the polling station that is closer to their domicile. If the voters have only used their one vote, this is not a substantive issue that results in a re-vote,” stated Dwi.
Dwi also responded to the issue of missing or not found Form C. Attendance List in the ballot box. The forms are then proposed or found after the voting process is concluded. According to him, the presence of voters in the Permanent Voters List (DPT) category can still be proven by the presence of Form C. Notification. “This cannot be used as a basis for re-voting because no vote manipulation has occurred,” he added.
Dwi also highlighted that there were voters who double-vote at different polling stations. Based on the evidence of Form C. Results, the voter who committed the violation was known to be a witness of the Petitioners.
Candidate Number 2 Ikram Umasugi and Sudarmo (the Relevant Party)’ expert Ilham Saputra (former KPU commissioner) emphasized that no voter should be registered more than once in the voter list, either in the same area or in a different area of residence. Ilham explained that voter registration conducted by organizers aims to provide certainty and guarantee citizens' voting rights.
“The voter list ensures when and at which polling station someone can cast their vote on polling day,” said Ilham. The number of registered voters is also a reference for the organizers in providing the appropriate number of ballot papers.
However, Ilham recognized that in practice there are often citizens who are not registered on the voter list for various reasons. This does not mean that their voting rights are lost. “There is a special mechanism that allows such citizens to register themselves within a certain time frame before polling day,” he added.
If the deadline has passed and the voter is still not registered, they are still able to vote by being included in the Additional Voters List (DPTb) and can exercise their voting rights as a Special Voters List (DPK).
Darwis Umasugi, the candidate pair Amus Besan and Hamsah Buton’s mandate witness revealed that there were incidents of two electricity power outages during the vote-counting process.
The electricity went out for approximately one hour while the counting process was underway. “After the power went out, the vote counting continued using a flashlight from a mobile phone,” he stated. However, not long after the counting resumed, an unknown person suddenly came and reprimanded the election organizer. After the reprimand, the vote counting was stopped,” Darwis added without elaborating on who the person was or the reason for the stoppage.
Darwis recounted that the vote counting, which resumed at 20.00 WIT, was suddenly halted due to a power outage. The power outage lasted until 01.00 WIT, while the power outage, the officers and witnesses remained at the location to oversee the counting process. The vote count was finally continued by using a generator that started at 01.00 WIT and lasted until 04.00 WIT. “All the witnesses have signed and there were no objections to the special incident,” said Darwis.
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KPU and Bawaslu Assert No Violations in Buru Regent Election
The Constitutional Court (MK) held a preliminary examination hearing for Case No. 174/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on January 13, 2025, on the Buru regent election results dispute. The case was filed by the Buru regent-vice regent candidates 04 Amus Besan and Hamsah Buton. The Respondent argued that the Petitioners’ method of vote counting, which excluded the results from these polling stations, lacked a clear legal foundation and failed to respect the voting rights of citizens who had lawfully cast their ballots. Meanwhile, in Namlea Village, The Petitioners revealed that there had been an inflation of six ballots in C-Result-Copy forms. The Petitioners also pointed out that the KPU Chairman claimed to have voted at TPS 21, despite the fact that the Chairman’s name was not listed on the final voter list (DPT), additional final voter list (DPTb), or special voter list (DPK).
Author : Utami Argawati
Editor : Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR : Tiara Agustina
Translator : Dinita Aktivia/FS (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.
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 | 20:21 WIB 217