The Petitioners’ legal counsels Ajat Sudrajat and Muhammad Rifqi Arif at the ruling hearing for case No. 321/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 Tasikmalaya regent election results dispute, Monday (5/26/2025). Photo by MKRI/Ifa.
JAKARTA (MKRI) — To understand the purpose and legal consequences of a court decision, especially a decision of the Constitutional Court (MK), the verdict cannot be read separately or partially, but must be interpreted as a whole and in unity with its legal considerations. The principle in totum (as a whole) is a fundamental rule in procedural law that ensures consistency of meaning and cohesiveness in the implementation of decisions. Such was the Court’s consideration, delivered by Chief Justice Suhartoyo for the petition filed by regent-vice regent candidates number 1 Iwan Saputra-Dede Muksit Aly (Iwan-Dede) at the ruling hearing for Decision No. 321/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 Tasikmalaya regent election results dispute on Monday, May 26, 2025.
In Decision No. 132/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, the Court did not state that all candidacy process of candidate pairs must be repeated or that all candidates must reregister. Instead, it expressly stated, “[The Court] orders the political party or coalition of political parties nominating regent candidate Ade Sugianto, who has been disqualified, to propose a replacement regent-vice regent candidates, without replacing H. Iip Miftahul Paoz as his running mate in the 2024 Tasikmalaya regent-vice regent election.” Therefore, replacing the regent-vice regent candidate pair with another, not to mention to replace the vice-regent candidate who had previously run with Ade Sugianto, i.e. lip Miptahul Paoz, was not justified. Therefore, it was irrelevant to mandate reregistration for the other candidate pairs aside from the replacement for Ade Sugianto.
As such, it was irrelevant to re-verify all those candidate pairs aside from the replacement for Ade Sugianto, because the other candidate pairs had been verified in the previous election, who were not annulled by Decision No. 132/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025.
“Based on this legal consideration, the Court holds that the Petitioners’ argument on the Respondent not implementing the revote following the pre-determined stages, especially not reopening another candidate pair registration transparently and equally, was legally groundless,” Chief Justice Suhartoyo explained.
Vote Buying Allegation
After reviewing the Petitioners’ allegation of massive vote buying in 351 villages in Tasikmalaya Regency, the Court did not find any convincing evidence: first, the names of the villages where the violation had occurred; second, the identities of the individuals involved in the disbursement of money and the recipients; third, the amount of money disbursed to sway voters; and fourth, documentation evidence that such transaction had taken place.
“Based on all the legal consideration, the Court holds that for the a quo petition, there was no reason to disregard the provision of Article 158 of Law No. 10 of 2016 relating to the Petitioners’ legal standing as a formal requirement to file a petition on dispute over the results of the governor, regent, and mayor election in the Court. Therefore, it is irrelevant to continue the a quo petition to follow-up evidentiary hearings,” said Chief Justice Suhartoyo.
As a result, in Decision No. 321/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, the Court handed down the verdict to declare the petition by regent-vice regent candidates number 1 Iwan Saputra-Dede Muksit Aly (Iwan-Dede) inadmissible.
Also read:
Iwan-Dede Allege Determination of Tasikmalaya Regent Candidates Irregular
Cecep-Asep Allegedly Bought Votes in Tasikmalaya Election
At the preliminary hearing on Thursday, May 15, Chief Justice Suhartoyo and Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah on panel 1 examined the petition for the annulment of the Tasikmalaya Regency Elections Commission (KPU) Decree No. 35 of 2025 on the certification of the results of the 2024 Tasikmalaya regent-vice regent election revote, issued on April 24, 2025 at 02:19 WIB. The petition was filed by Tasikmalaya regent-vice regent candidates number 1 Iwan Saputra and Dede Muksit Aly (Iwan-Dede).
The Petitioners argued that the revote of the Tasikmalaya regent election had been based on the Constitutional Court Decision No. 132/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025. The annulment of the General Elections Commission (KPU) Decree No. 1574 of 2024 on the certification of candidate pairs in the 2024 regional election, excluding only Iip Miptahul Paoz, means that all content of the decree was null and void. In addition, the candidate pairs are declared not having legal standing as candidate pairs.
In other words, the Tasikmalaya Regency KPU as Respondent had to reregister new candidate pairs by attaching B1-KWK forms along with other required documents for the revote, not only by replacing the candidates. However, on March 23, they issued Decree No. 10 of 2025 on the certification of candidate pairs in the 2024 Tasikmalaya regent election after the Constitutional Court decision on the election results dispute with regent-vice regent candidates Cecep Nurul Yakin-Asep Sopari, Iwan Saputra-Dede Muksit Aly, and Ai Diantani Ade Sugianto-lip Miptahul Paoz. The Petitioners believe the certification had not followed the procedure, been unlawful, and undermined the principle of justice.
Through Decision No. 132/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, the Court ordered the Respondent to conduct a revote excluding regent candidate Ade Sugianto for a violation of Article 7 paragraph (2) letter n of Law No. 10 of 2016 on the Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors. The decision also affirmed the annulment of the KPU Decrees No. 1574 of 2024 on the certification of candidate pairs and No. 1575 of 2024 on the certification of serial numbers of candidate pairs for the 2024 Tasikmalaya regent election. However, the Respondent did not implement the Court’s verdict by not canceling the decree on the certification of serial numbers of candidate pairs and for keep using the previous list of candidate pair without re-verification.
The disqualification of Ade Sugianto has led to a change in the composition of candidate pair number 3. Vice-regent candidate lip Miptahul Paoz remained, but a new regent candidate should be nominated by the political party endorsing them. The Petitioners question whether this new pair required re-registration. Based on Article 14 paragraph (2) of the KPU Regulation No. 8 of 2024, all candidates who met the candidacy requirements, including document verification and the requirement of less than two terms of service.
Therefore, the Petitioners requested that the Court annul the Tasikmalaya Regency KPU Decrees No. 35 on the certification of the results of the 2024 Tasikmalaya regent-vice regent election revote following the Constitutional Court decision on the election results dispute, issued in Tasikmalaya on April 24, 2025 at 02:19 WIB; No. 10 of 2025 on the certification of candidate pairs in the 2024 Tasikmalaya regent election after the Constitutional Court decision on the election results dispute; and disqualify candidate number 2 Cecep Nurul Yakin by removing Asep Sopari Al-Ayubi; and disqualify candidate number 3 Diantani Ade Sugianto by removing Iip Miftahul Paoz.
Also read:
Cecep-Asep Question the Term of Office of Tasikmalaya Regent
Tasikmalaya Regency KPU: Ade Sugianto’s Period and Term Align with Regulations
Pros and Cons of Counting the Term of Office for Incumbent Regent Candidates in Tasikmalaya
Court Disqualifies Tasikmalaya Regent Candidate for Having Served Two Terms
Constitutional Court Decision No. 321/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025
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.
Monday, May 26, 2025 | 19:37 WIB 223