Deciding on a civil lawsuit launched by an obscure political party claiming unfair treatment in the lead up to the polls, the Central Jakarta Court shocked the nation on Thursday by ordering the General Elections Commission (KPU) to stop all ongoing election procedures and restart the process in two years, four months and seven days.

This would effectively delay the elections scheduled for Feb. 14 next year to 2025 at the earliest, a suggestion that has angered many across the spectrum of national politics and posed questions about the court’s authority and motivation.

For one, the KPU has pledged to press ahead with organizing the elections, with chairman Hasyim Asy’ari saying the poll body would appeal the ruling at a higher court to ensure that it is not final and binding.

Meanwhile, the Judicial Commission court watchdog has vowed to summon the judges who issued the ruling and probe the bench for potential ethics violations, spokesperson Miko Ginting said in a statement on Friday.

The district court’s spokesman, Zulkifli Atjo, insisted that the ruling did not order any postponement; only for the KPU not to carry out the remaining election stages.

The lawsuit was filed last year by Prima, a new political party looking to contest its first election, but which has been rejected for repeatedly failing the verification process.

Two motions submitted to the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) and another filed with the State Administrative Court (PTUN) were rejected, but the party won at the Central Jakarta Court.

The full ruling had yet to be officially published on Friday, but a copy seen by The Jakarta Post showed that the judges deemed that the party had been denied an opportunity to submit the requirements due in part to glitches in the KPU’s software.

It also said that the district court’s decision intended to “restore justice and prevent at the earliest opportunity any other potential errors, inaccuracies or unprofessional” conduct by the elections body.

Prima chairman Agus Jabo Priyono lauded the ruling in a statement and hoped that all parties would respect the postponement of the election as a “rational demand”.

Widespread criticism

Since the ruling, however, many from within the government and among Jokowi’s ruling coalition have voiced opposition to the election delay, but not the President himself.

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin said on Friday in Jakarta that election preparations “will certainly go on” while the legal process continues, noting that the government “will also make its stance clear” at a later time.

Earlier, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD called the court ruling “sensational”, while Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, a senior member of the Executive Office of the President (KSP), called for calm and for the public to put their trust in the KPU.

The court’s decision has drawn opposition from the nation’s biggest party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which called for an investigation into the bench and the reversal of its ruling.

Citing party matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri, PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said that “politics must adhere to proper state administration based on the [1945] Constitution and the law”.

“Assorted attempts to postpone the election are unconstitutional,” Hasto said on Thursday.

Strong disapproval also came from three other members of the ruling coalition: the Golkar Party, the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN), all of which had backed past efforts to extend the current presidential term limits or postpone the elections.

Golkar lawmaker Ahmad Doli Kurnia, deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission II overseeing home affairs, condemned the court for “exceeding” its authority, while PKB deputy chairman Jazilul Fawaid described Thursday’s decision as “inciting disorder”. PAN secretary-general Eddy Soeparno, meanwhile, rejected the attempt to cause legal uncertainty or provide confusing information about the elections.

Crucial conundrum

However, without a clear stance coming straight from the horse’s mouth, analysts believe that the President risks imperiling the democratic process.

Should Jokowi provide a normative response that, for instance, respects due legal recourse, this would throw doubt on the current election process, said Noory Okthariza, a political researcher at the Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

“The election process would still be under way while we await the decision of a higher court to [reverse the ruling]. Legal uncertainty would still loom over the election,” he said in a discussion on Friday.

As such, Jokowi’s comments will play an important role in ensuring that next year’s elections take place as scheduled, Noory explained.

Others believe that Jokowi could still come out as a beneficiary if the election is delayed, as it allows space for other reasons to be put forward to back postponement.

Meanwhile, constitutional law experts have found it difficult to make sense of the district court’s ruling.

Feri Amsari, an expert from the Center of Constitutional Studies (Pusako) at Andalas University, said the decision was “absolutely baffling” and in “clear violation of the Constitution”, considering that the court has no jurisdiction whatsoever regarding election disputes.

Former Constitutional Court chief justice Jimly Asshiddiqie slammed the bench that presided over the court case, saying “the judges should be fired” for their inadequate understanding of election law and court jurisdiction.

“Compensation [to the plaintiff] is sufficient for civil courts to rule on, but not postponing elections, which is strictly the constitutional authority of the KPU,” he said.