Legal counsel Zetriansyah at the preliminary hearing for case No. 322/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 South Bengkulu regent election results dispute, Thursday (5/15/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — South Bengkulu regent-vice regent candidates number 2 Suryatati-li Sumirat have requested the annulment of the South Bengkulu Regency Elections Commission (KPU) Decree No. 346 of 2025 on the certification of the results of the 2024 South Bengkulu regent-vice regent election revote after the Constitutional Court decision, issued on April 24, to the Constitutional Court (MK). Chief Justice Suhartoyo and Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah sat on panel 1 on Thursday, May 15, 2025 for the preliminary hearing for case No. 322/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 South Bengkulu regent election results dispute.

Bsed on data by the South Bengkulu KPU (Respondent), the results of the revote were: candidate pair number 1 Elva Hartati-Makrizal Nedi won 2,207 votes; candidate pair number 2 Suryatati-li Sumirat won 41,423 votes; and candidate pair number 3 Rifai-Yevri Sudianto won 47,963 votes. The total valid votes were 91,593. The Petitioners had the second-highest votes, but due to the spread of a hoax, 492 voters made a statement that they had switched their votes to candidate pair number 3 Rifai-Yevri Sudianto (Relevant Party), while 1,198 others voted for candidate pair number 1 Elva Hartati-Makrizal Nedi (Relevant Party).

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Constitutional Court Decision No. 68/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025

Petitioners’ Arrest

The Petitioners’ legal counsel Zetriansyah argued that the switch had been due to the arrest of candidate pair number 2 by the campaign team of candidate pair number 3 on the night before the voting day. A video of the incident had been made to resemble a police arrest and spread to voters. This, the Petitioners alleged, had compelled his sympathizers to give their votes to other candidate pairs. The Petitioners also objected to the Respondent’s certification of the revote results, in which candidate pair number 3 had won despite unlawful methods.

“An offense had occurred in the South Bengkulu regent-vice regent election with a new modus operando on the revote day, where the campaign team of candidate pair number 3 Rifai-Yevri Sudianto had committed an illegal arrest and blockage of li Sumirat’s vehicle on April 18, 2025 at around 20:00 WIB in Kedurang District and a second arrest at 22:00 WIB in Air Nipis District near Seginim District on his way to a family wedding venue,” Zetriansyah revealed in the plenary courtroom.

The Petitioners requested that the Court disqualify candidate pair number 3 Rifai-Yevri Sudianto from the South Bengkulu regent election; annul the South Bengkulu KPU Decree No. 11 of 2025 the certification of the 2024 South Bengkulu regent election candidates after the Constitutional Court decision on the regent election results dispute; annul the South Bengkulu KPU Decree No. 12 of 2025 the certification of the serial order number of the 2024 South Bengkulu regent election candidates after the Constitutional Court decision on March 23, 2025; certify candidate pair number 2 Suryatati-li Sumirat as the revote winner; and order the South Bengkulu KPU to certify candidate pair number 2 Suryatati-li Sumirat as the candidates with the most votes in the South Bengkulu revote.

Read the petition for case No. 322/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 here.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : N. Rosi
PR            : Tiara Agustina
Translator  : 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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