North Barito KPU responding to petition in case No. 331/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 on the 2024 North Barito regent election results dispute, Thursday (9/4/2025). Photo by MKRI/Hamdi.

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JAKARTA (MKRI) — The allegation that the campaign team of candidate pair number 01, i.e. Rusiani, Haddy Arimurty, Syalimuddin Mayasin, and Herman Subagio, had engaged in money politics is merely a fictitious assumption, unfounded, and unsupported by legally admissible evidence, said the North Barito Regency Elections Commission (KPU) as Respondent in the 2024 North Barito regent election dispute case petitioned by candidate pair number 2 Jimmy Carter and Inriaty Karawaheni (Jimmy-Inri) to the Constitutional Court (MK). The second hearing for case No. 331/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 took place online, presided over by Chief Justice Suhartoyo (chair) and Constitutional Justices Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh and M. Guntur Hamzah on the first panel on Thursday, September 4, 2025.

The North Barito Regency KPU stressed that such an accusation bear no relevance or legal nexus to the Respondent. The evidence submitted by Jimmy-Inri (Petitioners), consisting of screenshots from the social media platform Facebook, cannot serve as a valid legal basis to substantiate any violation in the conduct of the revote for North Barito regent-vice regent, held as a follow-up to Constitutional Court Decision No. 313/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025 dated May 9, 2025.

Regarding such evidence, Article 36 paragraphs (2) and (3) of Law No. 24 of 2003 on the Constitutional Court, as amended most recently by Law No. 7 of 2020, stipulates that every piece of evidence submitted in cases before the Constitutional Court must satisfy the requirements of validity and legal accountability, both in terms of origin and authenticity. If such requirements are not met, the evidence has no probative value and cannot be used as a basis to support the Petitioners’ arguments.

“Therefore, evidence consisting merely of screenshots of Facebook posts does not meet the requirements under Article 36 paragraphs (2) and (3) of the Constitutional Court Law, as its validity and authenticity cannot be legally established. Moreover, such evidence contravenes fundamental principles of evidentiary law, which demand clear, authentic, and legally accountable proof,” explained Saleh, counsel for the Respondent. 

Previously Addressed by Bawaslu

Saleh further noted that the allegation had already been addressed by the competent authority, namely the North Barito Regency Elections Supervisory Body (Bawaslu). Upon reviewing the Petitioners’ report, it was declared not to fulfill the requisite elements, as stated in the notification letter on report status No. 263/PP.01.02/K.KH-03/08/2025 dated August 12, 2025. Legally, the Petitioners’ claim of money politics (vote buying) in said revote, had already been examined and resolved by Bawaslu.

“This is evidenced by the appendix to the notification letter on case status No. 263/PP.01.02/K.KH-03/08/2025 dated August 12, 2025, which essentially declared that the reported alleged violation did not constitute an electoral offense or crime,” Saleh clarified in the online session. 

Voters in Central Teweh

As an illustration, the Respondent elaborated on the claim concerning voters who allegedly did not receive the C-notification form, such as at TPS 01 in Melayu Village, Central Teweh Tengah District. While 160 voters indeed did not receive the form, 43 of them nevertheless exercised their voting right. This was verified by comparing the C-notification-KWK for the revote with the attendance list. Similarly, at TPS 07 in the same village, 202 voters did not receive the notification form, yet 117 of them cast their votes, as proven through a comparison of the notification forms and the attendance list.

Accordingly, Saleh firmly rejected the Petitioners’ contention that, under the KPU Regulation (PKPU) and circular letters, voters who did not receive the C-notification-KWK form for the revote could exercise their voting right as additional voters. He stressed that the Petitioners had erroneously invoked the PKPU and the circular, rendering their argument legally baseless. 

Allegations of Vote Buying

In response, candidate pair H. Shalahuddin–Felix Sonadie Y. Tingan (Relevant Party), through counsel Ali Nurdin, asserted that the accusations of structured, systematic, and massive (TSM) vote buying or money politics were fabrications and slander designed to tarnish their dignity, integrity, and reputation. They emphasized that the 2024 North Barito regent election had been conducted honestly and fairly, with broad public participation, and without any warnings, recommendations, or decrees from Bawaslu the regency, provincial, or national levels, nor any electoral offenses involving the Relevant Party.

“This is evidenced by the absence of any investigation results from the Integrated Law Enforcement Center (Sentra Gakkumdu) of North Barito Regency concerning the Relevant Party or their affiliates. The fabricated nature of the allegation is further shown by the statements of individuals cited by the Petitioners as witnesses. These individuals later issued formal declarations refuting their prior statements, admitting they had been coerced into signing declarations for the Petitioners’ benefit in exchange for Rp1,000,000, in the presence of regent candidate number 2 Jimmy Carter at the candidate pair campaign post in Jalan Pendreh, Central Teweh District,” Ali Nurdin explained. 

Voting Rights Remained

Addressing the Petitioners’ claim regarding the failure to distribute of the C-notification-KWK form, the Relevant Party presented evidence showing that this did not prevent registered voters from casting their ballots. Testimonies from Ridwan Salim, Miftahul Jannah, Rusdiansyah, and Neni Angraini, members of the KPPS (polling station working committee) at TPS 031 Melayu, confirmed that although some voters had not received the form, they were nevertheless able to vote by presenting their identification cards (KTP), which were then matched against the voter list (DPT) at the polling station.

Insufficient Evidence

Meanwhile, the North Barito Regency Bawaslu reported that based on oversight by the village election supervisor (PKD) of Malawaken Village, Teweh Baru District, preliminary information was received from residents regarding an alleged cash distribution by the campaign team of candidate pair number 1. This information was forwarded to the Teweh Baru district supervisory committee (Panwaslu). “Upon further investigation, Panwaslu of Teweh Baru found no evidence of any electoral violation, as there was neither sufficient testimony nor adequate proof,” explained Amir Mahmud, representing the North Barito Bawaslu online.

Also read:

Court Annuls North Barito Regent Election, Disqualifies Both Candidate Pairs

Jimmy-Inri Reveal Violations in North Barito Election Revote

Also read:

Petition No. 331/PHPU.BUP-XXIII/2025

Response by North Barito KPU

Statement by North Barito Bawaslu

Statement by H. Shalahuddin-Felix Sonadie Y. Tingan (Relevant Party)

Author       : Sri Pujianti
Editor        : N. Rosi
PR            : Fauzan F.
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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