Petitioner Bonatua Silalahi, accompanied by legal counsel, delivering main points of his revised petition at the Panel Courtroom, Tuesday (2/12). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

---

Jakarta (MKRI) – The Constitutional Court resumed the material judicial review of Article 169 letter r of Law No. 7 of 2017 on General Election, as amended by Law No. 7 of 2023 (General Election Law). The hearing of Case No. 216/PUU-XXIII/2025, filed by Bonatua Silalahi, was scheduled to examine the revised petition. It was held on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, and presided over by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, with Justices Ridwan Mansyur and Arsul Sani in attendance.

During the hearing, legal counsel Abdul Ghofur Sangaji presented several points from the revised petition, based on Constitutional Court Regulation No. 7 of 2025 and the Panel of Justices' inputs from the first hearing.

“The revision was made, including the format, explanation on legal standing, the full articles mentioned as the touchstone, and additional arguments that this case is not ne bis in idem,” Abdul Ghofur stated.

The petitioner also revised the petitum to ask that the Court grant the petition in its entirety and declare that the provisions of Article 169 letter r of the General Election Law are conditionally unconstitutional. The Petitioner asked that the provision be interpreted to require that educational certificates or documents used as a requirement for the presidential candidacy must be authenticated by the Election Commission, as the creator of the archive, and/or by the Indonesian National Archive or Local Archive, based on their respective authorities. According to the Petitioner, the authentication result must be documented as the State’s Authentic Archive.

Moreover, the Petitioner requested that the Court affirm that Article 169 letter r of the General Election Law remains legally binding so long as it is interpreted as requested. The Petitioner also asked the Court to order the Election Commission to adjust the verification process and the administration review for the presidential and vice presidential candidacies in accordance with this constitutional interpretation.

The Petitioner also requested that the Indonesian National Archive and/or Local Archive be given the mandate to exercise the authority to authenticate archives based on Law No. 43 of 2009. In addition, he also asked the Court to order the President and House of Representatives to adjust the norms in the General Election Law to align with the Constitutional Court’s decision. At the end of the petitums, the Petitioner requested the Court to render a fair and just decision (ex aequo et bono).

Also read:

Verification of Candidates for Public Office Academic Certificates on the General Election Law Questioned

During the first hearing, Bonatua Silalahi questioned the absence of an obligation to authenticate the original certificate of public official candidates in prevailing laws and regulations. He contended that the regulation only requires the submission of legalized copies of certificates. Meanwhile, the Election Commission’s (KPU) authority to clarify the real certificate is optional, as indicated by the use of the phrase “may” or “if necessary”.

The Petitioner explained that the norms in Article 18 paragraph (1) letter m and Article 19 paragraph (2) of the KPU Regulation (PKPU) No. 19 of 2023 jo. PKPU No. 23 of 2023 and Article 9 paragraph (1) letter m and Article 17 paragraph (2) of the PKPU No. 13 of 2010, treat public official candidates differently from those of ordinary citizens.  He noted that in various public administrations, from job applications to university submissions, professional certifications, and legal processes such as notarization, people must present original certificates when submitting legalized copies.

In manpower practice, several institutions hold job seekers’ original certificates as administrative verification to ensure the authenticity of the documents. However, according to the Petitioner, candidates for public office, such as the president, regional heads, and members of parliament, are not required to present original certificates and may submit legalized copies without the KPU's factual verification.

In his petitum, the Petitioner requested the Court to declare Article 169 letter r of the General Election Law to be conditionally unconstitutional.

The Petitioner asked that the provision be interpreted to require that educational certificates or documents used as a requirement for the presidential candidacy must be authenticated by the Election Commission and/or by the Indonesian National Archive or Local Archive, based on their respective authorities. The authentication result must then be documented as the State’s Authentic Archive.

Case tracking

Author: Utami Argawati

Editor: Nur R.

PR: Fauzan F.

Translator: Rizky Kurnia Chaesario

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.

---