Constitutional Court Rejects Three Election Dispute Lawsuits
Jakarta. The Constitutional Court has turned down three election lawsuits on Tuesday (16/02), leaving only five election dispute cases to be heard next week.
The court rejected two election lawsuits challenging the poll results in West Sumatra's South Solok district and Bangka Belitung's West Bangka district. Both were among seven lawsuits which required expert witnesses to testify at the hearings.
Constitutional Court chairman Arief Hidayat said the General Election Commission, or KPU, proved that no irregularities occurred during the West Bangka poll. The plaintiffs previously accused the KPU of failing to deliver the election invitations, or C6 forms, to respective voters.
In the South Solok election, the Court turned down the plaintiffs' argument that 13,199 voters in four subdistricts failed to participate in the poll, leading to their defeat. “Because in the subdistricts where the plaintiffs challenged [the poll results], they won most votes, [and in some cases] even with absolute victory,” Justice Manahan Sitompul said in her judgment.
The court also rejected another lawsuit over an election in the Fakfak district in West Papua, saying that the requirements to challenge the results were not met. The Fakfak election was earlier postponed after one disqualified candidate contested his dismissal.
The Constitutional Court is slated to issue verdicts over election disputes involving the districts of Mamberamo Raya in Papua; Bintuni Bay, West Papua; Kuantan Singigi, Riau; Muna, Southwest Sulawesi, Sula Island in North Maluku next week.
The court earlier received 147 lawsuits and has granted only one motion, a ballot recount in one subdistrict in South Halmahera, North Maluku.
Indonesia staged its first simultaneous regional elections on Dec. 9, 2015, with 264 provinces, districts and cities choosing their new leaders. The next round of simultaneous regional elections is slated on Feb. 15, 2017, including the Jakarta gubernatorial election.
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