The Petitioners’ legal counsel at the ruling hearing for Case No. 132/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the Tasikmalaya regent election results dispute, Monday (2/24/2025). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) partially granted the petition for Case No. 132/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 Tasikmalaya regent election results dispute. The verdict was pronounced at the ruling hearing presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo along with the other eight constitutional justices in the plenary courtroom on Monday, February 24, 2025.

“[The Court] adjudicated, on the petition’s subject matter: to grant the Petitioners’ petition in part,” said Chief Justice Court Suhartoyo reading out the verdict.

The Petitioners in this case were Candidate Pair 02 Cecep Nurul Yakin and Asep Sopari Al-Ayubi, the Respondent was the Tasikmalaya Regency Elections Commission (KPU), and the Relevant Party was Candidate Pair 03 Ade Sugianto and Iip Mipathul Paoz.

The Court granted the petition on the disqualification of Regent Candidate 03 Ade Sugianto. Chief Justice Suhartoyo stated, “[The Court] declares the disqualification of H. Ade Sugianto as a regent candidate in the 2024 regent-vice regent election.”

With the disqualification of said regent candidate, the Court also annulled the Tasikmalaya KPU Decrees No. 2689 of 2024 on the certification of the election results, No. 1574 of 2024 on the certification of candidate pairs, and No. 1575 of 2024 on the certification of serial numbers of candidate pairs for the 2024 Tasikmalaya regent election.

Although Ade was disqualified, vice regent candidate Iip Miftahul Paoz was still allowed to contest in the election. Therefore, the Court ordered the political party or coalition of political parties nominating or supporting Ade to propose a replacement candidate.

“[The Court disqualifies the regent candidate] without replacing H. Iip Miftahul Paoz as his running mate in the 2024 Tasikmalaya regent-vice regent election,” said Chief Justice Suhartoyo.

In addition, the Court ordered the Tasikmalaya KPU to conduct a revote excluding Ade Sugianto within 60 days of the verdict being read. The revote must be based on the same final voter list, relocated voter list, and additional voter list used in the election on November 27, 2024.

The Court disqualified Ade Sugianto due to his term of office, as he had previously served as Tasikmalaya regent after being elected in the 2020 regent election.

However, the issue arose because Ade Sugianto had previously replaced Tasikmalaya former regent Uu Ruzhanul Ulum, who was elected vice governor of West Java with Ridwan Kamil as governor. In its decision, the Court considered the West Java Governor Radiogram No. 131/169/Pemksm issued on September 5, 2018. The Court cited point CCC TTK of the radiogram, which stated that Ade Sugianto was to carry out the daily duties of the regent until the inauguration of a new regent or the appointment of an interim regent.

“[The radiogram] clearly showed that H. Ade Sugianto had carried out the duties and authority of the regent of Tasikmalaya until the inauguration of the regent or interim regent,” Justice M. Guntur Hamzah delivered the legal consideration.

Calculation of Term of Office

According to the Court, an individual is considered to have served as a regional head from the moment they actually and factually carry out their duties as an acting official, rather than from their official inauguration. This consideration aligns with four previous Constitutional Court Decisions No. 22/PUU-VII/2009, 67/PUU-XVIII/2020, 2/PUU-XXI/2023, and 129/PUU-XXI/2024.

The Court emphasized that the four decisions must be interpreted as a whole. In these decisions, the Court clearly stated that the term of office of a regional head who has not completed a full five-year term but is replaced by a vice in the middle of the term is counted as one full term if it lasts for two years and six months or more.

“By not distinguishing between definitive and temporary positions,” said Justice Guntur.

The Court calculated Ade Sugianto’s term of office starting from September 5, 2018. As for the end date, the Court considered the testimony of former Tasikmalaya regional secretary Mohamad Zen, who, as the Respondent’s witness, stated that Ade Sugianto had handed over the position to him on March 23, 2021.

Thus, the Court accumulated Ade Sugianto’s term of office as 2 years, 6 months, and 18 days. Since this exceeds 2.5 years or 2 years and 6 months, it is considered a full term.

“Meanwhile, in the second term, he also served as regent for a full term. According to the Court, this is a legally justified argument,” said Justice Guntur.

Also read:

Cecep-Asep Question the Term of Office of Tasikmalaya Regent

Tasikmalaya Regency KPU: Ade Sugianto’s Period and Term Align with Regulations

Pros and Cons of Counting the Term of Office for Incumbent Regent Candidates in Tasikmalaya

At the preliminary hearing, the Petitioners argued that the term of office of the Relevant Party did not fulfill the requirements for the candidacy of regents and vice regents. Between the two terms of office, the first was valid from September 5, 2018, to April 26, 2021, during which the Relevant Party served as the regent of Tasikmalaya for a total of 2 years, 7 months, and 18 days. For the second term, the Petitioners argued that the Relevant Party had served as the regent from 2021 to 2025 after winning the 2020 regional election.

Meanwhile, at the examination hearing, the Respondent revealed that Ade had served as regent for 2 years, 3 months, and 20 days from December 3, 2018, to March 23, 2021. According to the Respondent, this duration did not fulfill half of the regional head’s term of office, which is 2 years and 6 months or 2.5 years, and therefore, it should not be counted as one full term.

Also read:

Petition for Case No. 132/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025

Response by the Respondent

Statement by Bawaslu

Statement by the Relevant Party

 

Author              : Ashri Fadilla
Editor                : N. Rosi
PR                    : Andhini S.F./Tiara A./Fauzan F.
Translator         : Nazila Rikhusshuba/Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)

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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