Chief Justice Suhartoyo opening the preliminary hearing for case No. 331/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 North Barito regent election results dispute, Tuesday (9/2/2025). Photo by MKRI/Agung.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — North Barito regent-vice regent candidates number 2 Jimmy Carter and Inriaty Karawaheni (Jimmy-Inri) have filed a petition against the results of the 2024 North Barito regent election revote to the Constitutional Court’s (MK). The preliminary hearing for Case No. 331/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 took place online in a panel courtroom on Tuesday, September 2, 2025 with Chief Justice Suhartoyo (chair) and Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah presiding on the first panel.

Through their legal counsel M. Imam Nasef, Jimmy–Inri, petitioned for the annulment of the Decree of the North Barito Regency Elections Commission (KPU) No. 365 of 2025 on the certification of the results of the 2024 North Barito regent-vice-regent election in the revote following the Constitutional Court Decision on the dispute over election results No. 313/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, announced on August 9, 2025.

Based on the North Barito Regency KPU’s (Respondent) decree, candidates number 1 Shalahuddin–Felix Sonadie Y. Tingan (Relevant Party) obtained 40,400 votes, while the Petitioners obtained 36,989. The Petitioners alleged that the Relevant Party’s vote tally was achieved through structured, systematic, and massive (TSM) violations across nine districts in North Barito Regency. They also alleged that the Relevant Party had distributed money to voters under the guise of recruiting them as “volunteers,” who were then marked with serial-numbered volunteer cards. In addition, they accused the Relevant Party of distributing money using recipient lists and handing out cash to residents encountered on the spot.

“Initially, these volunteer cards were mere rumors, but they became a trigger when circulated on social media. This confirmed that the distribution of money using volunteer cards did in fact occur, even continuing on August 5, 2025, one day before the election. These volunteer cards had serial numbers and resident identification numbers (NIK), and when we cross-checked them with the final voters list (DPT), the names matched registered voters. This clearly constituted money politics, disguised as incentive funds, yet not reported in the campaign finance reports, which constitutes a violation of the KPU regulation,” Nasef submitted to the panel of justices at the virtual hearing.

Central Teweh District

The Petitioners further alleged irregularities specifically in Central Teweh District, which had the largest number of voters in the DPT. In that district, 10,813 ballots were not distributed. The reasons included 3,166 voters listed as “unknown” and 5,375 ballots undelivered because the voters were absent or no trusted family members were available to receive them. This totaled 8,541 undelivered notifications, equivalent to 19.87% of the 42,980 registered voters. According to the Petitioners, the Respondent had deliberately failed to distribute these C-KWK notifications, particularly in areas known as strongholds of the Petitioners’ supporters.

“Most of those who did not receive the notification letters or C-KWK notifications were volunteers of Team 02 or the Petitioners’ supporters,” Nasef explained. 

Petitioners’ Petitums

The Petitioners requested that the Court annul said KPU decree relating to the vote tally of candidates number 1 Shalahuddin–Felix Sonadie Y. Tingan. They also asked the Court to: “Declare the disqualification of candidate pair number 1 Shalahuddin–Felix Sonadie Y. Tingan from participation in the 2024 election for regent and vice regent of North Barito in the revote following the Constitutional Court Decision on the dispute over election results No. 313/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025,” said legal counsel Jubendri reading out the petitums.

The Petitioners further requested that the Court annul the North Barito Regency KPU Decrees No. 26 of 2025 on the certification of the candidate pairs for the 2024 North Barito regent-vice-regent election in the revote following the Constitutional Court Decision on the dispute over election results No. 313/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, dated June 16, 2025 and No. 27 of 2025 on the determination of candidate pair numbers for the same election, relating to the certification of candidate pair number 1 Shalahuddin–Felix Sonadie Y. Tingan.

Finally, the Petitioners requested that the Court order the North Barito Regency KPU to issue a decree declaring them the elected North Barito regent and vice Regent in the 2024 election revote.

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : N. Rosi
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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