Jusuf Kalla: Verdict Hearing is Safe
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Vice President Jusuf Kalla has expressed his belief that the Constitutional Court will be secure during the verdict hearing for the election dispute resolution on Thursday. Kalla also said that several opposition political parties had begun to explore closer ties with the Joko Widodo-Ma\'ruf Amin coalition.
"I\'m confident that all will be safe the day after tomorrow. After all, everyone is tired," Vice President Kalla said on Tuesday (25/6/2019) at his office in Central Jakarta.
The Constitutional Court (MK) will read out at 12:30 p.m. on 27 June 2019 the court’s verdict in the litigation brought forth by Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno. The court has notified all relevant parties of the schedule for the verdict hearing.
In connection with the hearing, National Police Chief Gen. (Pol.) Tito Karnavian said that the National Police would not permit any individuals or groups to hold mass actions at the court from Wednesday through Friday. The anticipatory measure was taken to prevent riots, such as those that ensued on 21-22 May following a demonstration at the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu).
"I don\'t want (any more riots) to happen again," said Tito. He also said that efforts to secure the verdict hearing for the election dispute would be undertaken by a joint force of 45,000 officers and personnel from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police. The joint force would not be equipped with firearms or live ammunition. In the event of third-party provocation, the force would employ firm measures that did not involve the use of live ammunition.
Kalla and Tito both expressed appreciation for Prabowo-Sandi, who asked their supporters to stay away from the court during the verdict hearing.
The Vice President recalled that the 2014 election dispute resolution proceeded more smoothly, because it was not preceded by a mass action.
He also stressed that neither friends nor enemies were permanent in politics, adding that several political parties that backed Prabowo-Sandi coalition had begun exploring closer ties with the Jokowi-Amin coalition.
A similar thing transpired after the 2014 presidential election, when the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party and the United Development Party of the Prabowo-Hatta Rajasa coalition switched to the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla coalition.
"Politics is dynamic. In politics, there are no eternal friends or opponents. Today [they might] be at cross purposes, but in the end they will come together. This is normal in politics," Kalla said.
Finalizing the verdict
The nine Constitutional Court justices will again hold a Consultative Meeting of Justices (RPH) on Wednesday to finalize the verdict. The process involves the careful and formal typesetting of the decision. Discussions concerning the substance of the verdict are being held in a series of judicial meetings from Monday to Wednesday.
Constitutional Court spokesperson Fajar Laksono Soeroso said that the nine justices would determine and agree to the diction in each sentence of the verdict at Wednesday’s meeting.
"The diction has to be precise and accurate so it is understandable, including in [matters regarding] the hearings, legal considerations, the court’s opinion, conclusions, rules, etc. All is undertaken so there will be no mistakes, including editorial errors and typos," he said.
Fajar said that the justices were ready to issue the verdict, although each justice was thoroughly reviewing their individual legal opinions. The nine justices reviewed the litigation documents in their offices on Tuesday, in addition to holding the consultative meeting.
The Constitutional Court’s verdict on Thursday is final and binding, so all parties must accept, comply with and implement it. The Constitution mandates the Constitutional Court as the first and final authority in resolving election disputes. It is believed that all parties involved in the litigation disputing the results of the 2019 presidential election understand this.
To be present
Fritz Edward Siregar of the Bawaslu said that the agency had received an invitation to be present at the Constitutional Court for the verdict hearing on 26 June. "We will attend the verdict hearing. Of course, all parties will be present and accept whatever the [court] has decided. That is what is regulated in the Constitution," he said.
In its capacity as an election organizer, the Bawaslu would accept and implement whatever the court had decided in the verdict it was issuing tomorrow.
Earlier, Prabowo-Sandi as the plaintiff, the General Elections Commission (KPU) as the defendant and Jokowi-Amin as the related party had all said that they were ready to accept whatever the Constitutional Court\'s verdict was and see to it that no mass action was held during or following the verdict hearing.
Constitution and Democracy (KoDE) Initiative chairman Veri Junaidi said that the justices had not debated adequately in coming up with their verdict in the election dispute. This and other things were apparent in the court’s decision to advance the verdict hearing by one day, from the initial schedule of 28 June to 27 June.
The apparent lack of strong legal debate could be seen from the facts that emerged during the hearings, Veri said in Jakarta on Tuesday, during a public discussion on "Measuring the Constitutional Court\'s Decisions on Witness and Expert Testimony Presented by the Plaintiff, Defendant, Related Parties and Bawaslu". (REK/INA/SAN/INK)