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Constitutional Court extends KPK leadership tenure in 5-to-4 decision
The Constitutional Court on Thursday extended the tenure for leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) from four years to five years and are eligible for reelection to a second five-year term, amid controversies surrounding the current KPK leadership and persistent efforts to declaw the agency.
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Rest in peace: Employees at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) lay flowers and wreaths on top of a casket placed in front of the KPK headquarters in Kuningan, Central Jakarta, on Sept. 13, 2019, after the House of Representatives elected Insp. Gen. Firli Bahuri of the National Police as the KPK's new commissioner. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
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he Constitutional Court on Thursday extended the tenure for leaders of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) from four years to five years and are eligible for reelection to a second five-year term in a 5-to-4 decision, amid controversies surrounding the current KPK leadership and persistent efforts to declaw the agency.
The court held that increasing the tenure stipulated in the 2019 KPK Law was necessary “to protect the independence of the KPK” and decided to allow former KPK leaders to be reelected without having to be aged at least 50.
“Having the KPK leadership tenure be different from those of [5-year tenure] leaderships of other independent state institutions or commissions has violated the principle of justice [...] and this is a discriminatory practice,” justice Guntur Hamzah read out the ruling.
The court ruled in favor of petitioner Nurul Ghufron, a 48-year-old KPK deputy chairman who will be ending his first tenure in December. Ghufron argued that the four-year tenure in the prevailing KPK law was discriminatory and that he lost his chance to contest the post for the second time because of the required minimum age of 50.
The ruling, however, did not specifically mention whether it is applicable to the current five KPK leaders who will end their tenure on Dec. 20 this year, including the petitioner and controversial KPK chairman Firli Bahuri.
Critics were quick to comment that the ruling could not be immediately enforced on sitting KPK leaders, with law expert Feri Amsari saying it is “not retroactive”.
Read also: Activists call for removal of KPK chief over mounting controversies
