The fate of the 2024 election rests in the hands of newly elected Constitutional Court Chief Justice Suhartoyo, who starts next week with a promise to “restore public trust” in the judicial institution after a massive ethics scandal that toppled his predecessor, Anwar Usman.

The former Supreme Court justice was elected to the leadership post on Thursday in a closed-door plenary meeting attended only by the nine justices of the court.

According to Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra, seven of the nine justices of the bench refused to be nominated to succeed the embattled Anwar, who was demoted after being found guilty of a serious ethics violation. This left Saldi and Suhartoyo as the only contenders for the post.

"The seven other justices agreed to let me and Suhartoyo discuss who will be the best fit to fill the vacant post. After 20 minutes of discussion, and in the spirit of improving the Constitutional Court following the recent [scandals], we agreed that Suhartoyo should become Chief Justice and I would remain in my position as deputy," Saldi told the press after the meeting.

Suhartoyo said that he agreed to step up to the position because he saw that the top court needed a new leader to restore eroding public trust.

“The seven other justices have refused to fill the position, so if Saldi and I declined as well, who would work to improve the Constitutional Court at a time of great need?” he said.

The two-term appointee, who turns 64 next week, also said that he would work with the other justices to fix the court’s many shortcomings.

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