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KPU denies having taken election delay lawsuit lightly
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An official readies ballot boxes for the 2019 general election at the Tanah Abang office of the General Elections Commission (KPU) in Jakarta in this undated photo. (The Jakarta Post/Wendra Ajistyatama )
As the General Elections Commission (KPU) prepares to appeal a controversial ruling that ordered it to effectively postpone the 2024 elections, it has pushed back against allegations that it failed to take the lawsuit seriously enough.
On March 2, the Central Jakarta District Court ruled in favor of a lawsuit lodged by the Prima Party that alleged the KPU had stopped it from exercising its right to field candidates for the 2024 general election. Prima, a fledgling party without any representation in the legislature, was one of five parties that failed to pass the KPU’s election approval process in November.
In its decision, the court found that Prima had been denied the opportunity to submit information required for its participation in the elections and ordered the KPU to stop all ongoing election procedures and restart the process, dictating that it should take two years, four months and seven days. This would push the elections back to 2025 at the earliest.
While the lower court ruling angered many within the government and across the political spectrum, a recently published court document has led observers to question the KPU’s commitment to defending its position.
According to the document, the KPU did not present any witnesses to the panel of judges and did not appoint a lawyer to represent it in the trial.
Read also: KPU to push ahead with 2024 balloting despite ruling to delay election
KPU head Hasyim Asy'ari claimed on Wednesday that he did not need to summon any witnesses to the trial because the election organizer “knew best” about Prima’s accusations.
