Post-Candidacy Determination, Palopo Election Committee Reviews Administrative Improvements

Swearing in the experts presented by the parties during the hearing of Case Number 326/PHPU.WAKO-XXIII/2025 regarding the Palopo City Mayor Election Result Dispute, held in the Plenary Courtroom of the Constitutional Court, Wednesday (2/7/2025). Photo by MKRI/Teguh.

JAKARTA, MKRI — The Constitutional Court held a hearing on Wednesday, 2 July 2025, to examine the Palopo City mayoral election result dispute, registered as Case Number 326/PHPU.WAKO-XXIII/2025. The hearing focused on hearing witness and expert testimonies, as well as reviewing and verifying additional evidence. In the petition, the petitioner challenged the validity of the receipt for the submission of the Annual Tax Return (SPT) for personal income tax submitted by mayoral candidate Naili, which was used to fulfill administrative requirements for candidacy. The petitioner also alleged that vice mayoral candidate Akhmad Syarifuddin had failed to disclose his status as a former convict.

The petitioners in the case are Candidate Pair Number 3, Rahmat Masri Bandaso and Andi Tenri Karta, who presented a witness named Dahyar. The witness testified that he had reported the Chairman of the General Election Commission (KPU) of the Republic of Indonesia, along with the Chair and members of the South Sulawesi KPU, to the Election Board Ethics Council (DKPP). According to Dahyar, the official letter issued by the KPU RI Chair—used as a reference by the South Sulawesi KPU—allowed Candidate Pair Number 4, Naili and Akhmad Syarifuddin, to make administrative improvements outside the candidate pair determination stage of the Palopo mayoral election.

“My report to the DKPP has been registered under Case Number 170-P/L-DKPP/V/2025 and has been declared to meet the material requirements. It is currently awaiting a trial date,” said Dahyar during the hearing at the Constitutional Court in Jakarta.

He further explained that the basis for his report to the DKPP was Constitutional Court Decision Number 70/PUU-XXII/2024, which essentially stipulates that administrative corrections are only permissible before the official determination of candidate pairs. However, according to Dahyar, the KPU allowed Candidate Pair Number 4 to make such corrections after the candidate pair determination stage.

On the other hand, South Sulawesi KPU Commissioner Ahmad Adiwijaya, who testified as a witness in the hearing, stated that the revision of the candidate requirements was carried out based on a recommendation from the Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu). According to the Palopo City Bawaslu, the tax return receipt submitted by Candidate Naili did not constitute a valid requirement for candidacy. Consequently, Bawaslu issued a recommendation asserting that an administrative violation had occurred in the electoral process.

Based on a recommendation from the Bawaslu, the South Sulawesi KPU, acting as the implementing body for the Palopo City KPU, conducted a clarification process with the Jakarta Tanjung Priok Tax Office. The witness acknowledged that there were discrepancies between the documents submitted by Candidate Naili as part of her candidacy requirements and the records held by the tax office.

Nevertheless, the Jakarta Tanjung Priok Tax Office confirmed that Naili had fulfilled her tax obligations. As a result, Naili’s team subsequently replaced the tax return receipt that had been initially submitted as part of her candidacy documents.

Ahmad further stated that his office did not carry out verification procedures for any other candidates, except for the replacement candidate of Trisal Tahir, who had been disqualified following the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the previous Palopo mayoral election dispute. However, there was a recommendation from Bawaslu alleging an administrative violation during the electoral process.

Despite this, no further action was taken by the KPU in response to Bawaslu’s recommendation. After conducting a review, which included consultations with the KPU at the national level (KPU RI), KPU Sulsel ultimately allowed Akhmad Syarifuddin to complete and submit the required documentation.

Subsequently, Akhmad Syarifuddin submitted a letter stating that he had publicly disclosed his status as a former convict through the mass media. Accordingly, both Naili and Akhmad Syarifuddin were deemed to have fulfilled the requirements for candidacy as a candidate pair in the Palopo mayoral election re-vote, as mandated by the prior Constitutional Court decision.

“The recommendation issued by our colleagues at the Palopo City Bawaslu regarding the alleged administrative violation served as the basis for our subsequent actions,” Ahmad explained. “These actions included convening a plenary session, consulting with the KPU RI, and adhering to KPU RI Official Letter Number 690. In addition, we provided the concerned parties with the opportunity to complete the required documentation.”

Tax Return Can Be Corrected

Meanwhile, Candidate Pair Number 4, Naili and Akhmad Syarifuddin, serving as the Related Party, presented constitutional law expert Feri Amsari to testify in the hearing. According to Feri, the Annual Tax Return may be corrected, provided it can be demonstrated that there was no manipulation of tax payments and that the taxpayer had fulfilled all related obligations.

Feri further stated that, in substance, the candidate had disclosed his status as a former convict and had satisfied the requirement for public disclosure of this status through the submission of documentation for a Police Clearance Certificate (SKCK). However, he expressed concern over the fact that the court had instead concluded that the individual had never been convicted.

According to Feri, this conclusion must be revised, as the candidate had already acknowledged their status. “I find it highly unlikely that someone would have malicious intent to manipulate the election process when they themselves had declared having a criminal record,” he emphasized.

On the other hand, Candidate Pair Number 3, Rahmat Masri Bandaso and Andi Tenri Karta, as the Petitioners, alleged that Naili—who replaced the previous candidate for the Palopo mayoral election re-vote following the Constitutional Court’s ruling—had submitted inaccurate documents. One of the documents in question was Naili’s 2024 Personal Income Tax Return, dated 25 February 2024, which had also been uploaded to the Candidate Information System (SILON) application. Following an investigation conducted jointly with the Palopo City KPU and the Jakarta Tanjung Priok Tax Office, the Palopo City Bawaslu concluded that the submitted tax return receipt was invalid.

According to the Petitioner, the Jakarta Tanjung Priok Tax Office explicitly stated that the document presented by the Supervision Facilitation Team of the Palopo City Bawaslu—namely, the 2024 Income Tax Return in the name of Taxpayer Naili—was invalid due to a discrepancy in the tax filing date for the 2024 tax year. The document used by Naili to register as a candidate for regional head was dated 25 February 2025, whereas the official tax return registered under her name bore the date 6 March 2024. Based on this discrepancy, the Petitioner alleged that Naili committed an administrative violation of electoral regulations as stipulated under the Regional Election Law.

The Petitioner emphasized that candidates for regional head are required to fulfill specific administrative conditions, including possessing a Taxpayer Identification Number (NPWP) and submitting personal income tax reports. This includes providing an NPWP card in the candidate’s name, a receipt for the submission of personal income tax returns for the past five years, and a certificate of no outstanding tax obligations issued by the registered tax office, all of which serve as proof of eligibility.

Furthermore, the Petitioner noted that any individual who deliberately provides false information or submits falsified documents as if they were genuine—especially regarding documents required for fulfilling the eligibility criteria to become a regional head candidate—may be subject to criminal penalties. These include imprisonment for a minimum of 36 months and a maximum of 72 months, and a fine ranging from 36 million to 72 million (rupiah).

Therefore, the Petitioner argued that the candidate pair declared by the Palopo City KPU as having obtained the highest number of votes is, in fact, ineligible. The Palopo City KPU had previously announced the vote tally following the Constitutional Court’s ruling as follows: Candidate Pair Number 1, Putri Dakka and Haidir Basir, received 269 votes; Candidate Pair Number 2, Farid Kasim and Nurhaenih, received 35,058 votes; Candidate Pair Number 3, Rahmat Masri Bandaso and Andi Tenri Karta (the Petitioner), received 11,021 votes; and Candidate Pair Number 4, Naili and Akhmad Syarifuddin (the Related Party), received 47,349 votes.

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Post-Candidacy Determination, Palopo Election Committee Reviews Administrative Improvements