Petitioners and legal counsel in the material review of the General Election law delivering the main points of their petition during the preliminary hearing on Thursday (21/5/2026). Photo by MKRI/Panji.

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Jakarta (MKRI) – Two individual citizens wished to apply to serve as Commissioners of the General Elections Commission (KPU) and/or the General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) for 2027-2032. However, they were restricted by the enactment of Article 21 paragraph (1) letter b and Article 117 paragraph (1) letter b of Law No. 7 of 2017 on the General Elections (General Election Law). Therefore, Yunita Utami Panuntun and Mahadi Rahman Harahap filed Petition No. 169/PUU-XXIV/2026.

During the preliminary hearing on Thursday, May 21, 2026, legal counsel Ari Safari Mau stated that the provision limits the constitutional rights of the Petitioners as citizens by determining the minimum age limit, which is not based on rationale, objectivity, and a measured manner related to the position needs, competence, and workload that members of the KPU and Bawaslu must fulfill. The tested articles refrained the Petitioners from registering themselves as members of the KPU RI because they are under 40 years of age. Yunita Utami Panuntun (Petitioner I) is 37 years old, while Mahadi Rahman is 38 years old.

“The implementation of the law regarding the age limit was what the petitioners felt was hindering them. Meanwhile, considering the current condition and situation, the quality and competence that may become the standards for election organizers without being limited by age,” stated Ari during the hearing led by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra.

In the petitum, the Petitioners request the Court to declare Article 21 paragraph (1) letter b of the General Election Law, as long as the phrase “having a minimum age of 40 (forty) years, 35 (thirty-five) years, and 30 (thirty) years”, contradicts the 1945 Constitution and has no legally binding force conditionally as long as it is not interpreted as “the minimum years of age is not strictly enforced, and can be conditionally ruled out for candidates who, based on merit system assessment, meet the relevant qualification, competence, integrity, capacity and experience, in objective, transparent, and nondiscriminatory manners of assessment, according to the principles of rule of law and equality before the law.”

“To declare Article 117 paragraph (1) letter b of Law No. 7 of 2017 on the General Elections on the phrase ‘having a minimum age of 40 (forty) years, 35 (thirty-five) years, 30 (thirty) years, and 21 (twenty-one) years’ contradicts the 1945 Constitution and has no legally binding power conditionally as long as it is not interpreted as ‘that the minimum years of age is not strictly enforced and can be conditionally ruled out for candidates who, based on merit system assessment, meet the relevant qualification, competence, integrity, capacity and experience, in objective, transparent, and nondiscriminatory manners of assessment, according to the principles of rule of law and equality before the law,” Ahmad Zulfikar read out the petitum.

Justices Advice

Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, as the chair, advised the Petitioners to strengthen their arguments. “These are positions that need specific skills and standards, including age. If you do not agree with the age limit, explain to us,” he said.

Meanwhile, Justice Liliek P. Adi asked the Petitioners to revise their petitum, which he considered would remove the requirement to register as candidates for KPU members. He stated that this would create confusion about the requirements. “The petitum removes the minimum requirement; it is gone. You only mention the provision to not be strict or flexible,” he stated.

At the end of the hearing, Deputy Chief Justice Saldi stated that the Petitioners were given 14 days to revise the petition. The documents must be submitted to the Registrar’s Office on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at 12.00 Western Indonesian Time, at the latest.

Case tracking: Petition No. 169/PUU-XXIV/2026

Author: Ilham W.M.
Editor: Lulu Anjarsari P.
PR: Raisa Ayuditha M.

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 prevails.

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