Justice M. Guntur Hamzah, accompanied by Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and Justice Ridwan Mansyur, leading the judicial review hearing of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections (General Elections Law), Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the Courtroom. Photo by MKRI/Panji.

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Jakarta (MKRI) – Muhammad Hudaya Muniib, an Indonesian citizen, questioned the absence of standards for academic competence, psycho test, English proficiency, and IQ test for the candidate of the president and vice president in Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Elections (General Elections Law). The hearing of Case No. 18/PUU-XXIII/2025 was led by Justice M. Guntur Hamzah, along with Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and Justice Ridwan Mansyur, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the Plenary Courtroom.

Initially, the agenda was a preliminary hearing. However, until the panel commenced the session, the Petitioner did not attend.

“The Petitioner has been absent from Case No. 18/PUU-XXIII/2025 until now, and after being summoned once more, the Petitioner is still unable to attend. Hence, the hearing is finished and closed,” Justice Guntur stated.

In his petition, the Petitioner declared that Article 169 of the General Elections Law was contrary to Article 27 paragraph (1) and Article 28D paragraph (3) of the 1945 Constitution. According to the petitioners, the absence of standards resulted in incompetent leaders, especially in previous periods. It caused weak economic policies, budget shortages, and less effective diplomacy. Moreover, Hudaya stated that the absence of this requirement also resulted in decisions not based on data and research, potentially harming the public.

Without clear competence standards, decisions in the fields of economy, law, education, and international relations were based on mere popularity instead of expertise and objective leadership capability. Without clear leadership candidate competence standards, Indonesia risked economic stagnation, policies that were not based on research, and weakness in its international diplomatic relations.

Read more: Petition of Case No. 18/PUU-XXIII/2025 in Indonesian language.

Author: Sri Pujianti.

Editor: N. Rosi

PR: Raisa Ayuditha Marsaulina.

Translator: Rizky Kurnia Chaesario

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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