Boven Digoel KPU: Candidate Determination Meeting Closed to Public

The related party’s legal counsel Victor Santosa Tandiasa, delivering a statement during the hearing of Case Number 330/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the Regent Election Results Dispute (PHPU) of the Boven Digoel Regency, held online on Thursday (9/4/2025). Photo by MKRI/Hamdi

JAKARTA, MKRI – The General Elections Commission (KPU) of Boven Digoel Regency, as Respondent in Case Number 330/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025, stated that the plenary meeting for the determination of regent and vice regent candidate pairs was held behind closed doors, including for the 2024 Boven Digoel Regent Election. This is in accordance with Article 120 paragraph (1) of KPU Regulation Number 8 of 2024 on the Nomination of Governors and Deputy Governors, Regents and Deputy Regents, as well as Mayors and Deputy Mayors.

“KPU at the provincial and regency/city levels conducts closed plenary meetings to determine candidate pairs who have met the requirements,” said Respondent’s legal counsel Willy Ater, in an online hearing of the Boven Digoel Regent Election Results Dispute (PHPU) case on Thursday, September 4, 2025.

He continued that the results of the plenary meeting were stipulated in KPU Boven Digoel Decree Number 16 of 2025 on the Determination of Candidate Pairs for the 2024 Regent and Vice Regent Election of Boven Digoel Regency as a Follow-Up to the Decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) of the Republic of Indonesia. Therefore, KPU affirmed that the determination of candidate pairs in the 2024 Regent Election was carried out in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Furthermore, the KPU stated that the verification of vice regent candidate Marlinus was conducted using a high school (SLTA) diploma or equivalent, not a bachelor’s degree (S1). KPU confirmed that factual verification of Marlinus’s high school diploma had been conducted on 3–4 September 2024 at Sekolah Menengah Pembangunan Persiapan, supported by Certificate No. 421.3/201-UPTSMA.03/PLP/DISDIK, issued by the South Sulawesi Provincial Education Office UPT SMA Negeri 3 Palopo on 3 September 2024, and signed by the head of SMA Negeri 3 Palopo, Hairuddin, S.Pd, M.Pd.

KPU also explained that the minimum educational requirement for a vice regent candidate is a high school diploma or equivalent. Thus, Marlinus met the requirement and was confirmed in the closed plenary meeting alongside other candidate pairs, with factual verification carried out by the Respondent.

Meanwhile, the Boven Digoel Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) stated that there were no public objections during the input and feedback stage received by the KPU on 19–20 March 2025. The determination of candidate pairs was carried out in a closed plenary meeting, as stipulated in Article 120 paragraph (1) of KPU Regulation Number 8 of 2024, which states: “KPU at the provincial and regency/city levels shall conduct closed plenary meetings to determine candidate pairs who have met the requirements as referred to in Article 119 paragraph (1).”

In this session, the Related Party, Candidate Pairs Number 3, Roni Omba-Marlinus, also presented their statement through legal counsel Victor Santosa Tandiasa. He argued that the removal of the academic title “Drs” from Marlinus’s name, which led to discrepancies between his name on the identity card (KTP) and the documents submitted to the KPU, did not create legal issues, as confirmed by Boven Digoel KPU.

“It is important to understand that there is a difference between a university graduate using a high school diploma and a high school graduate using a fake university diploma,” said Victor.

Previously, Candidate Pairs Number 4, Hengky Yaluwo–Melkior Okaibob, filed a PHPU petition after the revote (PSU) with the Court. The Petitioner claimed that KPU Boven Digoel failed to hold an open plenary meeting regarding the determination of Roni Omba as the regent candidate in Candidate Pair Number 3, replacing Petrus Ricolombus Omba, who had been disqualified under Constitutional Court Decision Number 260/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025.

According to the Petitioner, candidate pairs only received invitations to attend the plenary meeting for candidate number drawing, which was not part of the Court’s ruling. They also argued that Boven Digoel Bawaslu failed to actively perform its supervisory role.

Petitioners further contended that Boven Digoel KPU Decree Number 17 of 2025 on the Determination of Candidate Pairs Number referenced KPU Decree Number 16 of 2025 on the Determination of Candidate Pairs for the 2024 Regents Election. However, Petitioners claimed the Respondent did not issue invitations or notifications to candidate pairs to attend the plenary meeting for candidate determination. They also noted the absence of documentation or official minutes proving that such an open plenary session had been held with attendance from all candidate representatives.

Therefore, the Petitioners argued that KPU Decree Number 16 of 2025 had never been properly deliberated in an open plenary meeting, rendering the determination of Candidate Pair Number 3, Roni Omba-Marlinus, legally invalid. As such, Candidate Pair Number 3 should not have been allowed to participate in the Boven Digoel repeat election.

In their petitum, the Petitioners requested the Court to annul KPU Boven Digoel Decree Number 67 of 2025 on the Determination of the Results of the 2024 Regent and Vice Regent Election of Boven Digoel Regency as a Follow-Up to the Constitutional Court’s Decision, announced on 13 August 2025 at 13:53 WIT. They also asked the Court to declare Candidate Pair Number 3, Roni Omba-Marlinus, ineligible due to alleged use of false documents and data manipulation, to order the KPU Boven Digoel to disqualify Candidate Pair Number 3 from all stages of the election, and to mandate a repeat election in all polling stations in Boven Digoel, excluding Candidate Pair Number 3 from participation.

Based on the KPU’s decree, the vote counts were: Candidate Pairs Number 1, Athanasius Koknak–Basri Muhammadiah, with 7,662 votes; Number 2, Yakob Waremba–Suharto, with 2,372 votes; Number 3, Roni Omba–Marlinus, with 12,990 votes; and Number 4, Hengki Yaluwo–Melkior Okaibob, with 6,554 votes. The difference in votes between the Petitioners and the Related Party was 6,436, exceeding the legal threshold of 2 percent of valid votes (599 votes) for filing a regent election results dispute’s petition.

The case was heard by Panel II of the Court, presided by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra and assisted by Justices Enny Nurbaningsih and Ridwan Mansyur. Deputy Chief Justice Saldi stated that the case would be brought to the Justices’ Deliberation Meeting (RPH) for further consideration. The RPH decision may determine whether the case proceeds to further examination or is dismissed.

“It depends on the outcome of the RPH discussions,” Deputy Chief Justice Saldi said.

He added that if the case proceeds, each party may present up to six witnesses/experts at the provincial level and up to four at the regency/city level. For cases deemed inadmissible, the dismissal ruling will be pronounced in a hearing scheduled for Wednesday, September 10, 2025.

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Boven Digoel KPU: Candidate Determination Meeting Closed to Public