T

he General Elections Commission (KPU) confirmed on Friday that any 2015 regional elections dispute settlements would be handled by the Constitutional Court (MK) as mandated by the Regional Elections Law.

'€œIt will be handled by the MK as mandated by the Regional Elections Law,'€ KPU chairman Husni Kamil Manik told reporters at his office on Friday.

The country is planning to hold its first concurrent regional elections on Dec. 9 in 269 regions.

The elections for regional heads in the past decade were run individually and at different times.

Although dispute settlements were previously handled by the court, the court'€™s credibility has been shaken recently with the conviction of former chief justice Akil Mochtar for accepting bribes to favor certain candidates.

Due to waning confidence in the court, the latest Regional Elections Law includes a provision that regional election disputes could be settled by the Supreme Court (MA).

During a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission II on governance and regional autonomy earlier this year, the Constitutional Court rejected accepting authority for this year'€™s elections, arguing its limited capability to handle too many cases at once.

The forum, however, decided to return the authority to the court because there was not enough time to prepare another institution to do the job as the election schedule approaches.

According to MA spokesman Suhadi, the MA supported the House'€™s decision to entrust mediation powers back to the Constitutional Court.

The court eventually accepted the House decision because there was no judicial institution specifically assigned to handle the disputes as mandated in the Regional Elections Law.

Article 157, paragraph 3 of the Regional Elections Law stipulates that all disputes relating to regional elections will fall under the authority of the Constitutional Court, until a dedicated election judicial body is formed.

After accepting the mandate, and in order to strengthen its role in settling the disputes, the court has proposed a revision to the Constitutional Court Law, which stipulates that it has no authority to settle the elections disputes.

Besides that, according to the court'€™s report made available on July 7, its deputy chief justice Anwar Usman said that the court also demanded to be given 60 days to settle the disputes.

'€œIf we are only given 45 days to settle the disputes, it means we have to finish every dispute in 30 minutes, and that'€™s impossible,'€ Usman said, adding that regional elections might be carried out in 269 regions.

In the Regional Elections Law, it is stated that the court will rule on disputes within 45 days after case registration, and the ruling will be followed up by the KPU.

A recent audit from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has warned the government and the KPU on the loopholes that still exist in the dispute settlement mechanism, but the government insists that it is ready with dispute settlement protocols. (ind)