The Petitioners Attending the Petition Revision Hearing of Case No. 7/PUU-XXIII/2025 Online, Tuesday (3/18/2025). Photo by MKRI/Bayu.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The Constitutional Court (MK) held a petition revision hearing on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, for case No. 7/PUU-XXIII/2025, filed by the Student Alliance of the Faculty of Law, Stikubank University Semarang. The Petitioners challenged Article 240 paragraph (1) letter c of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections (Election Law) against the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.

However, in the panel session presided over by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra along with Justices Ridwan Mansyur and Arsul Sani, the Petitioners confirmed the withdrawal of case No. 7/PUU-XXIII/2025. It was stated that on March 15, 2025, the Court had received a withdrawal letter from the Petitioners. One of the Petitioners explained that after discussions and attempts to revise the petition, the two weeks were deemed insufficient to gather the necessary data for the petition revision.

“We confirm the withdrawal of the petition and appreciate the Petitioners for attending to clarify this matter. This means that the hearing for the petition revision is now concluded, and the case is officially closed,” said Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra from the Constitutional Court Panel Room.

Also read: Questioning the Lack of Native Sons Representing Their Electoral Districts in Legislative Election.

 

Background of the Case
At the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, the Petitioners expressed concerns over the high percentage of legislative candidates (DPR/DPRD) who do not reside in their respective electoral districts (dapil). Data from the General Elections Commission (KPU) shows that, based on the 2019-2024 Final Candidates List (DCT) as of September 28, 2018, 3,387 candidates (59.53%) of legislative candidates in the Legislative Election were not domiciled in their electoral districts.

For this reason, Ahmad Syarif Hidayatullah, representing the Petitioners, stated that in the 2024 Election, 1,294 legislative candidates (DPR/DPRD) lacked strong regional ties to their electoral districts. A majority of these candidates were from Jakarta and its surrounding areas.

An analysis by the Kompas Daily Data Journalism Team on candidate profiles from the KPU’s official website (infopemilu.kpu.go.id) accessed on November 16, 2023, revealed that out of 9,917 candidates in the DCT approved by the KPU, 5,701 candidates (57.5%) resided outside their electoral districts.

Additionally, 3,605 candidates (36.4%) were neither domiciled nor born in their electoral districts. In comparison, 1,294 candidates (13%) had no connection with the electoral district, as they were not domiciled, not born, and had never attended high school or university in the district they sought to represent.

As a comparison, in the nomination process for members of the Regional Representative Council (DPD), candidates must be domiciled in the electoral region they represent. This requirement underscores the principle of regional representation in state institutions, ensuring a stronger relationship between candidates and the regions they seek to represent.

Petitioners’ Request
Through their petition, the Petitioners requested that the Court declare Article 240 paragraph (1) letter c of the Election Law unconstitutional and without binding legal force unless interpreted as follows:

“Candidates for members of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Provincial Legislative Council (DPRD Provinsi), and the Regency/City Legislative Council (DPRD Kabupaten/Kota) must be Indigenous Indonesian citizens and must fulfill the following requirements: c. Reside in the electoral district where they run for office for at least five years before determining candidacy, as proven by an Identity Card (KTP).”

Author: Sri Pujianti
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR: Raisa Ayuditha M.
Translator: Yuanna Sisilia

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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