PDI-P files lawsuit against KPUD, claiming vote-rigging

Apriadi Gunawan ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Medan   |  Tue, 04/29/2008 12:40 PM  |  The Archipelago

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) filed a lawsuit Monday with North Sumatra High Court against North Sumatra General Elections Commission (KPUD) for an allegedly inaccurate vote count.

PDI-P representatives claimed the inaccurate vote count had cost candidates Tri Tamtomo and Benny Pasaribu (Triben) to lose the gubernatorial election of April 16.

This was the first lawsuit PDI-P has ever filed against the KPUD, and comes following the official announcement proclaiming Syamsul Arifin and Gatot Pudjonugroho as the new governor and vice governor of North Sumatra.

The North Sumatra High Court would then forward the lawsuit to the Supreme Court.

North Sumatra High Court vice chairman Rusman Dany Achmad said the court was not entitled to examine the files for the lawsuit because its job was specifically to receive them.

"This is the Supreme Court's jurisdiction. We will immediately submit the files to the Supreme Court," Rusman said Monday at his office.

PDI-P North Sumatra chapter secretary Alamsyah Hamdani said the Triben candidate pair had authorized 10 lawyers to litigate KPUD, adding that PDI-P, as an organization, had fully supported the move.

A lawyer for PDI-P, Arteria Dahlan, maintained KPUD tallied the votes inaccurately, which had caused the Triben pair to lose the election.

Based on their findings, Arteria said, the Triben pair had at lost at least 220,044 votes during vote counts at the district level, and claimed the winning pair had rigged 42,409 votes.

"The Triben pair might have actually won the election had their votes not been rigged, and had the KPUD tallied the votes accurately. According to our calculations, they had garnered 1,355,679 valid votes," Arteria told the media after registering the case with the high court.

The KPUD had announced Syamsul and Gatot, nominated by 11 parties (among them the United Development Party, Prosperous Justice Party and the Crescent Star Party), as winners of the North Sumatra gubernatorial election after obtaining 28.98 percent or 1,396,892 votes.

The Triben pair, nominated by PDI-P, were placed second with 21.69 percent or 1,070,303 votes, followed by Wahab Dalimunthe and Raden Muhammad Syafi'i, obtaining 17.40 percent or 858,528 votes. The RE Siahaan and Suhersi pair came in fourth with 16.58 percent or 818,171 ballots, and lastly Ali Umri and Maratua Simanjuntak with 16.01 percent or 789,793 votes.

Arteria said PDI-P had also found proof indicating fraud, including eligible voters who were forbidden from voting for not owning voter cards.

Due to the findings, he said, PDI-P had demanded KPUD hold a repeat election in a number of areas deemed disadvantageous to the Triben pair.

"We demand the KPUD to organize repeat elections in Medan city, as well as in Deli Serdang, Serdang Bedagai, Tebing Tinggi, Nias, South Nias, Langkat, Asahan, Batubara and Labuhan Batu regencies, places where the Triben pair were believed to be victimized," Arteria said.

KPUD's North Sumatra chapter head, Irham Buana Nasution, said PDI-P had done the right thing by taking the issue to court, adding that the KPUD were prepared to face the suit.

The repeat elections, Irham said, were unlikely because KPUD had already designated the new governor and vice governor.

"KPUD is set to face the lawsuit, but it's not possible to hold a repeat elections because we have legitimately determined the governor and vice governor," Irham said.

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