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Court petition shows growing discontent with uncontested races: Observers
Three plaintiffs have made a request to the Constitutional Court to amend the Regional Elections Law to allow a kotak kosong (blank box) to be included in every ballot in the upcoming regional elections, as a protest against political parties for only prioritizing popularity when nominating a candidate.
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A model displays Si Jali, the mascot for the 2024 East Java gubernatorial election, to motorists in Surabaya, East Java, on Sept. 6, 2024 as a move to persuade voters to cast their votes in the upcoming regional election, slated for Nov. 27. (Antara/Didik Suhartono)
A judicial review petition requesting that a kotak kosong (blank box) be allowed on the ballots of all upcoming regional elections shows the public’s disappointment with political parties, observers have said.
Three lawyers from Jakarta and Tangerang, Banten, namely Heriyanto, Ramdansyah and Muhammad Raziv Barokah, submitted a petition to the Constitutional Court on Aug. 5 seeking to amend the Regional Elections Law.
Their request centered on the provision about uncontested elections, where a sole candidate pair would compete with a blank box on the ballot. The plaintiffs urged the blank box to appear on every ballot in every regional election, including those with multiple candidates running.
In a regional election that only has a single candidate pair running, voters are allowed to cast their vote for a blank box, signaling their rejection of the sole candidate.
In contrast to abstention, the vote for the blank box is declared valid. Should the sole candidate fail to gain more than 50 percent of the total vote, the blank box is declared the election winner and a reelection will be held the following year or at another time.
Read also: Repeat regional polls one solution for ‘empty box’ wins: House
During a public discussion on Sunday, Raziv explained that the petition was made to challenge many political parties, which he argued had created barriers for potential candidates to run.
