South Bengkulu Bawaslu representative M. Arif Hidayat restifying at a hearing for case No. 322/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 South Bengkulu regent election results dispute, Tuesday (5/20/2025). Photo by MKRI/Fauzan.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — There was no legal correlation between the arrest of li Sumirat, who allegedly was about to commit covert campaign during election silence, and the memorandum of understanding between the KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission), the Prosecution Office, and the Police. Factually, the KPK, the Prosecution Office, and the Police have not taken any legal action against Ii Sumirat.

This statement was made by Edi Rusman, the legal counsel of candidate pair number 3 Rifai-Yevri Sudianto (Relevant Party), on the allegation made by South Bengkulu regent-vice regent candidates number 2 Suryatati-li Sumirat (Petitioners) when filing a petition for 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. Edi made the statement at the second hearing for case No. 322/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 South Bengkulu regent election results dispute on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. The hearing was presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo and Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah.

The Relevant Party believe the allegation was mere assumption, delusional, too imaginative, and did not have legal grounds. Factually, there was no hoax, as investigation into evidence found that the arrest had happened on April 19 at around 01:00–03:30 WIB in Kedurang District. “[Ii Sumirat’s] appearance at the time did not have legal grounds and was inappropriate given the time. [He] made the surrounding community restless because he visited at unusual hours,” Edi said.

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Former South Bengkulu Regent Gusnan Mulyadi’s 2024 Candidacy Deemed Legally Flawed

South Bengkulu Elections Commission: Gusnan Mulyadi Has Not Served Two Terms

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Gusnan Mulyadi Disqualified from South Bengkulu Regent Election

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

Reasons for Abstention

The Relevant Party argued that the statement letter of 3,743 voters, which was made evidence for the transfer of the votes for the Petitioners, was unlawful because voting should be confidential. Next, they argued that the high number of voters abstaining in the South Bengkulu revote had not been due to hoaxes, but because the revote had not taken place on a national holiday. As a result, many school students, university students, and private employees who had been out of town could not come and vote.

It was also because many residents work as coffee farmers out of the regency, thus could not come during coffee harvest. The price of coffee beans was rising, so they had chosen to harvest instead of coming to the polls.

Also read: Unlawful Arrest Allegedly Influenced Voters in South Bengkulu Revote

At the preliminary hearing on Thursday, May 15, the Petitioners said that based 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).

The Petitioners 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. They also objected to the Respondent’s certification of the revote results, in which candidate pair number 3 had won despite unlawful methods.

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.

Also read:

Petition for Case No. 322/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025

Respondent’s response

Statement by Bawaslu

Statement by Relevant Party

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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