Budysastra Bahrun as Respondent accompanied by the Respondent’s legal counsel, appeared to provide information during the hearing of Case Number 316/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 concerning the 2024 Banggai Regency Regent Election Results Disputes. The hearing was presided over by the Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Saldi Isra, and Constitutional Justices Ridwan Mansyur and Arsul Sani, in the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Photo by MKRI/Teguh.

---

JAKARTA, (MKRI) - The Candidate Pair of the elected Regent and Vice Regent of Banggai Regency, Amirudin-Furqanuddin Masulili, who is also an incumbent, denied the argument that the district government program was misused for his benefit to gain votes. The Related Party in Case Number 316/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 conveyed its rebuttal in the Regional Election Results Dispute (PHPU) hearing at the Constitutional Court.

“The Related Parties had no intention of benefiting from the kit program or the school supplies assistance,” stated Damang, the legal counsel for Candidate Pair Number 1, during the hearing session dedicated to hearing the Respondent's Answers, Related Parties' Statements, and Bawaslu's Statements, held on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta.

He explained that the proposal for school equipment assistance had been submitted prior to the 2024 Regional Head Election. The distribution of the aid, which took place on February 22, 2025, in Toili District and on February 25, 2025, was not carried out on the instructions of the Related Party, as alleged by the Petitioner, Candidate Pair Number 3, Sulianti Murad and Samsul Bahri Mang.

The Related Party also refuted the allegation regarding a Rp100 million donation allegedly announced at the Nurul Huda Mosque in Cendana Village, Toili District, as coming from Candidate Pair Number 1, Amirudin and Furqanuddin. According to their explanation, the request for the Rp100 million originated from the mosque committee and was directed to the Welfare Section (Kesra) of the Banggai Regency Government.

The disbursement order was issued because the donation was originally scheduled to be implemented at the end of 2024. However, the 2024 Pilkada process had not yet concluded and was further delayed due to the revote mandated by the Constitutional Court's decision on the Banggai Regent Election Results Dispute, which was delivered on February 24, 2025.

"Because the first quarter ends in the third month, the disbursement had to be made during that period. However, it was then followed by an internal letter from Kesra instructing the bank to temporarily freeze the account," explained Damang.

Meanwhile, the Banggai Regency Elections Commission, as the Respondent, stated that the Petitioner experienced an increase in votes in Toili District by 2,749 votes—from 6,833 votes in the initial voting on November 27, 2024, to 9,582 votes in the revote held on April 5, 2025. The Petitioner also secured the highest number of votes in the vote recapitulation results in Simpang Raya District, with a total of 5,007 votes.

Also read:

Allegations of Misuse of Assistance Programs During Banggai Revote

Banggai Regent's Authority Transfer to District Heads Proven, Court Orders Revote in Two Districts

Experts and Witnesses Dispute Over Banggai Regent's Transfer of Authority to District Heads

Banggai Elections Commission Confirms Voter Used Diploma for Voting

Banggai Election Result Dispute: Regent Accused of Mobilizing Subdistrict Heads and Accelerating Budget Realization

For information, Candidate Pair Number 3, Sulianti Murad and Samsul Bahri Mang, filed a petition for the 2024 Banggai Regent Election Results Dispute following the re-voting conducted at all polling stations in Toili and Simpang Raya Districts. The Petitioners alleged that the Related Party, Candidate Pair Number 1—Amirudin and Furqanuddin Masulili, the incumbent Regent—had misused local government programs for electoral advantage.

“There were handbags distributed to the community in Simpang Raya and Toili Subdistricts on a massive scale, from February 27 to March,” stated the Petitioner's legal counsel, A.H. Wakil Kamal, during the preliminary hearing of Case Number 316/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 in Panel 2 Courtroom, Jakarta.

After the re-voting was conducted at all polling stations in the two districts in question, the final vote tally at the district level showed that the Petitioner received 94,176 votes, while the Related Party obtained 95,073 votes. This resulted in a vote margin of 897 votes, or 0.41 percent, thereby meeting the threshold set forth in Article 158 of the Law on Regional Head Elections (Pilkada Law) to submit a dispute over the election results to the Court.

Previously, the Court had partially granted Case Number 171/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 concerning the 2024 Banggai Regent Election Results Dispute filed by Candidate Pair Number 3, Sulianti Murad and Samsul Bahri Mang. In its ruling, the Court ordered the Banggai Regency KPU, as the Respondent, to conduct re-voting in all polling stations in Toili and Simpang Raya Districts.

“Ordering the Respondent to conduct a re-voting by including voters listed in the Permanent Voters List, the Transfer Voters List, and the Additional Voters List used during the November 27, 2024 election for the Regent and Deputy Regent of Banggai, at all polling stations in Toili Subdistrict and Simpang Raya Subdistrict,” stated Chief Justice Suhartoyo, accompanied by the eight other constitutional justices, during the decision pronouncement hearing held on Monday, February 24, 2025, in the Plenary courtroom 1, Jakarta.(*)

Author : Mimi Kartika

Editor : Lulu Anjarsari P.

PR : Fauzan Febriyan

Translator : Fuad Subhan

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.

---