MK Gets Ready for Registration of Election Disputes

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

The General Elections Commission (KPU) holds a national recapitulation plenary meeting for the vote acquisition of the 2019 election for West Java province at the KPU building in Jakarta on Thursday (16/5/2019). The KPU postponed the meeting until Saturday (05/18/2019) morning because documents from Papua, South Sulawesi and Jakarta were not ready.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS - The Constitutional Court (MK) has set up a task force to handle the registration of disputes over election results as the final results of the 2019 presidential and legislative elections will be announced by the General Election Commission (KPU on May 22.

Election contestants have a maximum of three days after the announcement of the election results to file an election dispute to the MK.

The task force formed by the MK comprises about 300 members of the court’s secretariat staff. They are divided into a number of desks that will handle different tasks, ranging from dispute registration to consultations.

Work procedures for the task force are simulated so that the registration of election disputes can be carried out smoothly.

"The Constitutional Court wants the registration for disputes over election results to be carried out efficiently," said MK spokesman I Dewa Gede Palguna, who is also a Constitutional Court judge, in Jakarta, on Friday.

In accordance with the Election Law, the MK handles disputes over the results of the election for members of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) of provincial and regency levels as well as the result of the election of president and vice president.

The MK will open registration for election disputes from May 23 to May 25. If no disputes are filed three days after the deadline, the KPU will formally determine the elected president and vice president candidates.

The registration deadline for the DPR, DPD and DPRD PHPU is not much different.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) chairman Abhan (center) looks sleepy while attending an open plenary meeting on the recapitulation of the results of the national level vote acquisition in 2019 election at the General Election Commission (KPU) building in Jakarta on Tuesday (14/5/2019). The KPU postponed the meeting until Saturday (05/18/2019) morning because documents from Papua, North Sulawesi and Jakarta were not ready.

As a comparison, in the 2014 election, the court received 903 cases of election disputes from the contestants of legislative and DPD elections as well as 34 cases from prospective DPD members (KPU, 2017). While in the 2014 presidential election, president and vice president candidate Prabowo Subianto and Hatta Rajasa, respectively, also filed a suit over the result of the election.

Palguna said that in handling the disputes, the court would be passive, so that requests for the settlement of the disputes would rely on the justice seekers.

"The MK as a court is passive in nature. If there is a case, it will be examined. If it does not exist, the Constitutional Court will not encourage or prohibit litigants," he said.

Postponed

Meanwhile, national-level vote counting in South Sulawesi, West Papua and Jakarta, which was initially scheduled to be held on Friday, was postponed because KPU officials from the three provinces were not ready.

Thus, there are still seven provinces that have not recapitulated their votes. The other provinces that have not been counted are North Sumatra, Riau, Papua and Maluku.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Arief Budiman greets witnesses from political parties after closing the national recapitulation plenary session for the vote acquisition of the 2019 election for West Java province, which took place at the KPU building in Jakarta on Thursday (16/5/2019). The KPU postponed the meeting until Saturday (05/18/2019) morning because documents from Papua, North Sulawesi and Jakarta were not ready.

KPU chairman Arief Budiman said KPU officials from West Papua had arrived in Jakarta on Friday. However, the tabulation documents they brought must still be examined, so counting had to be postponed. The other two provinces are still completing the provincial level vote counting.

On Saturday, the KPU is scheduled the vote counting for South Sulawesi, West Papua, DKI Jakarta and North Sumatra. (REK/INK/FLO/RTG)