MK Values ​​Gibran's Candidacy as Legal, Presidential Intervention Unproven

The MK assessed that Gibran's appointment as vice presidential candidate was in accordance with the provisions. The President's intervention is also not proven.

KOMPAS/HENDRA A SETYAWAN

The atmosphere of the reading of the decision on the 2024 General Election Results Dispute (PHPU) for the Presidential Election by constitutional judges at the Constitutional Court, Jakarta, Monday (22/4/2024).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The Constitutional Court assessed the process of determining the candidate pairs for president and vice president without changing the General Election Commission regulations governing the nomination of participants The 2024 Presidential Election does not violate the law. This is because the Constitutional Court's decision regarding the age limit requirements for presidential and vice presidential candidates must be implemented immediately. Delays in determining candidate pairs due to having to wait for revisions to KPU regulations actually have the potential to violate citizens' rights to nominate themselves.

"If the KPU does not immediately implement the decision of Constitutional Court Number 90 / PUU-XXI / 2023, it will actually disrupt the stages of the election implementation and potentially create a violation of the constitutional rights of citizens to become presidential and vice-presidential candidates," said Constitutional Judge Arief Hidayat, when reading the considerations of the verdict on the dispute over the results of the presidential and vice-presidential elections submitted by the Anies Rasyid Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar pair at the Constitutional Court building in Jakarta on Monday, April 22, 2024.

On October 16, 2023, the Constitutional Court through Decision Number 90/PUU-XXI/2023 changed the minimum age requirement for presidential and vice presidential candidates from a minimum of 40 years to a minimum of 40 years and/or having experience as a regional head. The decision was made when the 2024 Presidential Election process had already begun.

If the KPU does not immediately implement the decision of the Constitutional Court Number 90/PUU-XXI/2023, it will actually disrupt the stages of the election implementation and potentially create violations of citizens' constitutional rights to become presidential and vice presidential candidates.

However, at that time, the KPU did not immediately change the PKPU Number 19 of 2023 regarding the nomination of Presidential and Vice Presidential Election participants. PKPU No 19/2023 was only changed to PKPU No 23 of 2023 on October 31, 2023 because the KPU had to go through a consultation process with the DPR's Commission II and the government.

Before PKPU No. 19/2023 was amended, to be precise on October 25 2023, the KPU accepted the registration of Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who was only 36 years old as a vice presidential candidate (cawapres) accompanying presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto. The KPU also continued Gibran's application with the next process, including verification and determination of the Prabowo-Gibran pair as one of the presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs participating in the election.

Also read: The Prabowo-Gibran camp remains confident that the MK will reject Anies and Ganjar's lawsuit

In its considerations, the Constitutional Court (MK) assessed that the KPU's legal action of verifying the requirements of candidate pairs on October 28, 2023 was in accordance with Article 169 letter I of the Election Law which had been interpreted by the MK in decision number 90/PUU-XXI/2023. At the time, the KPU had used the MK decision number 90/2023 as a reference to declare that the requirements for presidential and vice-presidential candidates had been met.

The Constitutional Court (MK) also assessed that the General Election Commission (KPU) has honestly conveyed to all political parties participating in the elections about the new legal circumstances resulting from the MK's decision. The KPU is also considered to have applied the same requirements fairly to all prospective candidate pairs.

"Therefore, the Constitutional Court (MK) considers the actions of the respondent (KPU) in implementing the decision of MK Number 90/PUU-XXI/2023 as an effort by the respondent to apply and uphold the principles of honesty and fairness in the 2024 Presidential and Vice Presidential Election," said Arief.

In the hearing, the Constitutional Court also found that the General Election Commission (KPU) had tried to comply with all the rules and procedures required to implement Decision Number 90/2023 by changing KPU Regulation Number 19/2023 to KPU Regulation Number 23/2023. In substance, the changes to the requirements for candidate pairs applied by the KPU in KPU Decision Number 1378/2023 and KPU Regulation Number 23/2023 were considered to be in accordance with the Constitutional Court's order.

Regarding the decision of the Election Organizer Honor Council (DKPP) stating that the General Election Commission (KPU) violated ethics in processing Gibran's nomination, according to the Constitutional Court (MK), the substance of DKPP's decision cannot automatically be used as a reason to cancel the verification results and candidate pairs already confirmed by the KPU. This is because DKPP only questioned KPU's failure to immediately draft changes to the regulation PKPU Number 19/2023 as a follow-up to the MK decision No 90/2023, not questioning or canceling the nomination of Prabowo-Gibran.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Supporters of presidential and vice presidential candidate number 2, Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka, in a speech accompanying victory at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Wednesday (14/2/2024).

The Constitutional Court also noted that none of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates protested against the appointment of Prabowo-Gibran as participants in the 2024 Presidential Election. At that time, both the Anies-Muhaimin and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD pairs, who are now submitting a dispute of the election results, did not raise any objections.

Not proven

In its consideration, the Constitutional Court (MK) also stated that there is no evidence of President Joko Widodo's intervention in the decision to change the minimum age requirement for presidential and vice presidential candidates. The judges stated that the MK has repeatedly emphasized the background and implementation of Decision No. 90/2023 in Decisions No. 141, 145, and 150. Therefore, the issue of interpreting the candidate pair requirements is a matter of testing norms and it has already been decided by the MK in the constitutional review case.

Regarding the allegation of intervention, the Constitutional Court (MK) is based on the decision of the MK's Honor Council (MKMK) which has declared a serious ethical violation and imposed a sanction of dismissal on Anwar Usman, the former Chairman of the MK. However, the decision of the MKMK cannot immediately be taken as sufficient evidence convincing the MK that nepotism and abuse of power by the President have occurred in the change of the vice presidential candidate's eligibility requirements. The MK also cited the MKMK's decision stating that it did not have the authority to cancel the MK's decision regarding the change in the presidential and vice presidential candidate's eligibility requirements.

KOMPAS/ERWIN EDHI PRASETYA

President Joko Widodo answered press questions after visiting his third grandchild born at RS PKU Muhammadiyah Solo, Central Java, on Friday (11/15/2019). The second child of President Jokowi's eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka and Selvi Ananda is named La Lembah Manah.

In the context of election result disputes, the issue being argued is no longer about the validity or constitutionality of the requirements, but rather directed towards the fulfillment of the requirements of the participating candidate pairs in the election.

Also read: Rejecting the Exception of the KPU and the Prabowo-Gibran Team, the MK Emphasizes That It Doesn't Just Judge Numbers

"Thus, according to the Court, there is no problem with meeting the requirements for Gibran Rakabuming Raka as a vice presidential candidate from the relevant party, and the verification and determination of candidate pairs carried out by the respondent are in accordance with the provisions and there is no convincing evidence to the Court that there has been intervention by the President in changing the requirements for presidential and vice presidential candidate pairs in the 2024 presidential election," said Arief.