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Constitutional Court calls on Jokowi to OK regional elections bill
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Activists pose for a photograph at the Constitutional Court recently. They informed the court that they would file a judicial review against the regional elections bill as soon as the bill was signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. (kompas.com/Alsadad Rudi)
T
he Constitutional Court has called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to immediately sign the bill on a revision to the 2015 Regional Elections Law that was approved by the House of Representative earlier this month.
The signing of bill by the President is necessary so that the court can proceed with a judicial review submitted by groups of residents, said Constitutional Court chairman Arief Hidayat in Jakarta on Monday.
“The signing of the bill is important so that when people file a judicial review, we have time to do our best to proceed with it,” Arief said at the State Palace.
Arief said the immediate enactment of the bill would also help the Constitutional Court adjust regulations related to regional elections, which will be held in February next year.
"We have to revise Constitutional Court’s regulations in order to adapt to the new law. Because when dealing with the elections, we must refer to the Regional Elections Law," he added.
The House approved the revision of the 2015 Regional Elections Law early this month, which sparked protests by various parties, particularly from Teman Ahok (Friends of Ahok), the main supporters of Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who is expected to run as an independent candidate in the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Article 41, paragraph 1 stipulates that independent candidates intending to run for the position of governor, mayor or regent must garner support from 6.5 percent to 10 percent of the people on the final voter list (DPT) who registered for the 2014 poll. Ahok’s supporters said the stipulation could potentially disadvantage first-time voters or people who recently relocated to Jakarta.
Article 48 stipulates that supporters of a candidate must pass factual verification, in which regional General Elections Commissions verification officials will conduct face-to-face meetings with the registered supporters. If the officials are unable to locate them, the teams of candidates must escort them to the election committees in their areas within three days, otherwise they will fail to meet the verification requirement. (bbn)
