Dhimas Pradana and Erwin Edison, legal counsel for the Petitioner, while attending the ruling hearing of the North Gorontalo Regent and Vice Regent Election Result Dispute Case on Monday (26/5/2025) at the Constitutional Court. Photo by MKRI/Ifa.

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JAKARTA, MKRI  – The Constitutional Court (MKRI) dismissed a petition filed by candidate pair number 1, Roni Imran and Ramdhan Mapaliey, in the case of the North Gorontalo Regent and Vice Regent election result dispute following the re-vote. The ruling was delivered in Decision Number 320/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 during the ruling hearing held in the Plenary Courtroom of the Constitutional Court, Jakarta, on Monday (26/5/2025).

In the legal considerations delivered by Constitutional Justice Ridwan Mansyur, the Court concluded that the Petitioner's allegation regarding the use of a fake diploma by Deputy Regent Candidate Number 2, Nurjana Hasan Yusuf, was unfounded in law. The Court affirmed that Nurjana held a valid Certificate of Equivalence Diploma (Package C) issued by Community Learning Center (CLC) of  Sam Ratulangi Paal Dua in 2012 and signed by the Head of the Manado City Education Office, Tombeg Dante. The validity of the diploma had been verified by the General Elections Commission (KPU) and relevant authorities during the candidate registration stage. The Respondent clarified the matter on September 21, 2024, with both the CLC and the Manado City Education Office confirming that Nurjana was a legitimate graduate of the institution. This verification was also documented in the Minutes of the North Gorontalo KPU, Number 243/PL.02.2-BA/7505/2024, dated September 14, 2024.

Furthermore, the Court found that the Petitioner's allegation of money politics allegedly committed by candidate pair number 2 in a structured, systematic, and massive (TSM) manner was not supported by convincing evidence. “There is no evidence that can convince the Court that a TSM money politics violation occurred and influenced the election results,” said Constitutional Justice Ridwan Mansyur.

The Court also noted that the Petitioner submitted additional documents—namely a copy of Nurjana Hasan Yusuf’s diploma and curriculum vitae—through a letter dated May 20, 2025, which was labeled as ad informandum. However, the Court declined to consider the documents, as they were submitted after the deadline for filing revisions and following the conclusion of the preliminary hearing.

Threshold Requirement Not Fulfilled

In other considerations delivered by Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih, the Court highlighted that the candidate pair Roni Imran and Ramdhan Mapaliey failed to meet the vote margin threshold required under Article 158 paragraph (2) letter a of Law Number 10 of 2016. The vote difference between the Petitioners, who secured 35,345 votes, and the Related Party, who obtained 37,985 votes, was 2,640 votes or 3.57 percent. This exceeded the maximum permissible margin of 2 percent or 1,475 votes of the total valid votes to file an election dispute.

“The Petitioner does not meet the formal requirements as stipulated in Article 158 paragraph (2) letter a of Law Number 10/2016 and therefore lacks legal standing to file the petition,” the Court stated in its ruling.

As a result, the Court declared that the objections raised by the Respondent and the Related Parties were legally grounded, and the petition could not be accepted for further consideration.

Read also:

Under Criminal Probation, Ridwan Yasin Disqualified from North Gorontalo Regent Election

Roni-Ramdhan Challenges North Gorontalo Revote Results Over TSM Violations

KPU: Post-Revote Regional Election in North Gorontalo Held in Accordance with Regulations

Candidate pair Number 1 for Regent and Vice Regent of North Gorontalo, Roni Imran and Ramdhan Mapaliey, raised objections to North Gorontalo KPU Decision Number 312 of 2025, which finalized the election results on 23 April 2025. The objection was presented during the preliminary hearing of Case Number 320/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, held on Thursday (15/5/2025), presided over by Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat, alongside Justices Anwar Usman and Enny Nurbaningsih.

Furthermore, the Petitioner, Heru, also alleged widespread money politics conducted by the Related Party, involving campaign teams, village heads, and members of the Gorontalo Provincial DPRD. He cited instances of money distribution to voters in several areas, including Maningkapoto Village in Kwandang District, as well as the disbursement of funds to village heads during a meeting on 1 April 2025 at the residence of the campaign team member for candidate number 2, identified as Revan alias RSB.

For this reason, in the petition submitted to the Court, the Petitioner requested that the Constitutional Court declare the candidate pair Thariq Modanggu and Nurjana Hasan Yusuf to have been proven to have committed structured, systematic, and massive (TSM) electoral violations, and therefore be disqualified as participants in the 2024 North Gorontalo Regency Regional Head Election. The Petitioner also asked the Court to declare their own candidacy as the duly elected Regent and Deputy Regent of North Gorontalo for the 2024 election.

Author  : Utami Argawati

Editor   : Lulu Anjarsari P.

PR : Tiara Agustina

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.

 

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