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oliticians are now competing to grab a seat at the Constitutional Court (MK) after the court last week controversially repealed a government regulation in lieu of law, or Perppu, barring politicians from becoming justices at the court.

The court, which is tasked with adjudicating election disputes, will see two seats become vacant in the next few months: One was left empty by the exit of former chief justice Akil Mochtar, who was arrested on bribery charges last year.

Justice Harjono, meanwhile, will leave office in March.

Observers said the House of Representatives and the government should immediately appoint new justices before the legislative election in April or it would risk jeopardizing the constitutionality of election results.

As of Tuesday, the names of several lawmakers have been touted. One is Benny K. Harman from the ruling Democratic Party (PD), which fully supported President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono'€™s move to issue the Perppu, which would have protected the court from political influence.

Benny, the former deputy chairman of House Commission VI overseeing trade and industry, was once head of the Commission III overseeing law and human rights,

Lawmaker Harry Wicaksono, of the same party, said the party abided by the court'€™s ruling as it was '€œfinal and binding'€.

'€œTherefore, we will obey it,'€ Harry said on Tuesday. '€œThere are many politicians [...] who have the capacity. For example, Dimyati and Benny. Benny once led the House'€™s legal commission, a doctor and a politician with integrity,'€ he said, referring to Dimyati Natakusumah from the Islam-based United Development Party (PPP).

During the deliberation at last December'€™s plenary session, 221 of 369 lawmakers at the sessions supported Yudhoyono'€™s Perppu, which was issued in the wake of Akil'€™s arrest.

Benny said he would consider the support from the fellow lawmakers, including from Sarifuddin Sudding of the People'€™s Conscience (Hanura) Party and the PPP'€™s Ahmad Yani.

'€œIt is a challenge; I have suitable skills,'€ Benny said.

In its ruling, the court argued that the Perppu provision for a candidate to not have had links with a political party for at least seven years was based merely on '€œstigmatization'€ after Akil'€™s scandal. Akil is a former Golkar Party politician.

The government said that although it opposed the ruling it would respect it. It said the Perppu aimed to ensure the court was free from practical political interventions and interests.

The controversial ruling also sparked criticism from legal experts and activists. '€œWe are now back to square one in our attempt to reform the court,'€ Erwin Natosmal from the Indonesia Legal Roundtable said.

There were six non-politician justice applicants this year, including two that applied last year '€” Gunung Jati State Islamic University sharia lecturer Sugianto and Indonesia Islamic University law lecturer Ni'€™matul Huda.

The other candidates are the Law and Human Rights Ministry'€™s former director general for legislation, Wahiduddin Adams, who often represented the government in many judicial review cases at the court; and notary and legal practitioner Franz Astani.