Government Reminded That Inauguration of Regional Heads After "Dismissal" Decision is Also Legally Flawed

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The government's plan to inaugurate regional heads resulting from the 2024 Regional Head Elections or Pilkada after the dismissal decision on 310 election dispute cases by the Constitutional Court is considered to remain legally flawed. The government is again reminded that the Constitutional Court has mandated that the inauguration of regional heads/deputy regional heads must be held simultaneously after the entire election dispute process at the Constitutional Court is complete.

Initially, the government and the DPR agreed that the inauguration of regional heads would be on February 6, 2025. However, on Friday (1/31/2025), Home Minister Tito Karnavian said that the government had postponed the inauguration of regional heads. The postponement was made after information from the Constitutional Court (MK) regarding the dismissal hearing schedule for the election dispute application.

The hearing that will decide whether or not to continue each dispute case will take place on February 4-5, 2025 or earlier than the previous plan on February 11-13. After listening to input from several parties, the government then decided to wait for the dismissal decision on the grounds of increasing the number of regional heads and deputy heads who can be inaugurated simultaneously.

However, Advocate and Managing Partner of Diansyah & Partners Law Firm, Febri Diansyah, reminded that the Constitutional Court, through decision number 27 of 2024, has decided that the inauguration of regional heads/deputy regional heads resulting from the 2024 Regional Elections will be held simultaneously and will await the completion of the election result disputes process in the Constitutional Court. Currently, the process in the Constitutional Court is still ongoing and is scheduled to be completed by mid-March 2025.

"If the inauguration of regional heads resulting from the 2024 Regional Elections is forced to proceed before the election disputes in the Constitutional Court are resolved (except for regions where a re-vote is decided), then this risks being legally flawed as it violates Constitutional Court Decision No. 27/PUU-XXII/2024," said Febri, Monday (3/2/2025).

Although the government has canceled the inauguration on February 6 and chosen to wait until the Constitutional Court's dismissal decision, it does not mean that it is in accordance with the Constitutional Court's decision. The inauguration of regional heads after the Constitutional Court's dismissal decision also risks being legally flawed because it still violates Constitutional Court Decision No. 27/PUU-XXII/2024.

He reiterated that the Constitutional Court's decision has ordered that the inauguration of elected regional heads must be carried out simultaneously after the judicial body has finished resolving election result disputes, except for regions where the Constitutional Court has decided that a re-vote or re-count must be conducted.

"The point is, the simultaneous inauguration is divided into two, first after the regional election disputes are resolved in the Constitutional Court and second, an exception is made for regions where a re-vote is conducted," said Febri, who is also one of the legal representatives of the regional leaders when testing Article 201 paragraph (7) of the Regional Election Law to the Constitutional Court. This judicial review resulted in Constitutional Court Decision No. 27/2024.

Febri emphasized that the completion of the election dispute process does not refer to the Constitutional Court's dismissal decision. The completion of the dispute should refer to the completion of all the Constitutional Court's work in hearing the case. The Constitutional Court has 45 working days to handle the election dispute since the application was submitted or since the case was registered in the e-BRPK (electronic constitutional case registration book).

"The government needs to be careful and not rush. According to Constitutional Court Decision number 27, the inauguration should be carried out after the Constitutional Court decides on all regional election dispute petitions, not just the dismissal decision," he said.

He also reminded the elected regional heads to be patient in waiting for the completion of the process in the Constitutional Court because this is not only a matter of time but also the legal legitimacy of the regional government. Moreover, the regional heads resulting from the 2020 regional elections have the right to carry out the mandate from their voters until their term ends.

In the Constitutional Court Decision No. 27/2024, it was also emphasized that the regional heads/deputy regional heads resulting from the 2020 Pilkada who were just inaugurated in 2021 will serve until the inauguration of the regional heads/deputy regional heads resulting from the 2024 Pilkada as long as they do not exceed a five-year term of office.

"That has been cut in less than 5 years. Don't rush to take power. Because Indonesia is a country of law, the Constitutional Court's decision must be obeyed. Also to prevent other legal disputes. In addition, now is also the final phase of the transition of the concept of Simultaneous Regional Elections and a consolidated government between the center and regions," said Febri.

Regarding the cancellation of the inauguration of regional heads on February 6, 2025, Commission II of the DPR will ask for clarification from the Ministry of Home Affairs in a meeting this afternoon at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta.

Chairman of Commission II of the DPR, Rifqinizamy Karsayuda, said that the meeting was also to reconfirm the schedule for the gradual start of the inauguration of regional heads because in a previous meeting the government and DPR had agreed that the inauguration of regional heads would begin on February 6, 2025.

"Because the decision on February 6, 2025 regarding the simultaneous inauguration of governors, regents, and mayors who are not involved in the Constitutional Court has been decided by Commission II of the DPR, then ethically, politically and to maintain good partnerships, we will decide again if there are proposals for changes," said Rifqinizamy.

Meanwhile, member of Commission II of the PKB Faction, Mohammad Toha, revealed the government's plan to postpone the inauguration of regional heads to be held on February 18-20. Regarding the plan to postpone the schedule, he criticized it. According to him, the plan violates the rules because it does not involve Commission II of the DPR in determining the inauguration schedule.

"The Indonesian House of Representatives (Commission II) was not involved in the postponement of the schedule. This violates the rules, that everything related to the election must involve the DPR and working partners," explained Toha in his press statement.

In the previous meeting, Commission II of the DPR together with the Ministry of Home Affairs, KPU, Bawaslu, DKPP, concluded that the inauguration of 296 regional heads elected as a result of the 2024 simultaneous regional elections that did not have any MK disputes would be carried out on February 6, 2025 in the nation's capital by the President.

Indeed, said Toha, the conclusion ignores the Constitutional Court Decision No. 27/PUU-XXII/2024 which states that the simultaneous inauguration of regional heads is carried out after the Constitutional Court has resolved disputes over regional election results for cases that cannot be accepted and rejected, except for regions in disputes at the Constitutional Court that a re-election, or a re-vote, or a re-count of votes has been decided.

Regarding the Constitutional Court's Decision, before the meeting was held, the PKB Faction of the DPR had requested that the meeting comply with the Constitutional Court's decision. However, when the meeting decided on the inauguration in stages and starting on February 6 for regional heads who were not in dispute at the Constitutional Court, the PKB Faction followed the decision. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs suddenly planned to postpone the inauguration schedule on February 18-20 without discussing the change with Commission II.

"That is clearly against the rules. For that reason, we have summoned the Minister of Home Affairs to explain the plan to postpone the inauguration schedule," said Toha.