Yermias Bisai Disqualified, MK Orders Papua KPU to Hold PSU Papua Gubernatorial Election

JAYAPURA, KOMPAS — The Constitutional Court declared that the candidacy of the elected 2024 Deputy Governor of Papua, Yermias Bisai, does not meet the requirements and must be disqualified. The Constitutional Court ordered the Papua General Election Commission to conduct a re-vote for the Papua Governor Election no later than 180 days after the verdict was announced.

The Papua gubernatorial election results dispute (PHPU) case was registered at the Constitutional Court with Case Number 304 of 2025. The verdict hearing was held on Monday (24/2/2025).

"Declaring the disqualification of Papua Deputy Governor Candidate Yermias Bisai from participating in the 2024 Papua Governor and Deputy Governor Election," said Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Suhartoyo in the verdict which was broadcast online and finished being read at 13.31 WIB.

In the ruling, the Constitutional Court annulled the decision of the Papua Provincial General Election Commission Number 250 of 2024 concerning the Determination of the Results of the 2024 Papua Governor and Deputy Governor Election. In the determination of the Papua KPU, December 14, 2024, Benhur Tomi Manor-Yermias Bisai (number 1), won 269,970 votes or 50.7 percent. This achievement was 7,193 votes ahead of candidate pair number 2, Mathius Fakhiri-Aryoko Rumaropen, who won 262,777 votes or 49.3 percent.

The Constitutional Court ordered the Papua KPU to carry out a PSU in accordance with the voter list for the November 27, 2024 vote. The PSU must be completed within a deadline of 180 days from the time the verdict was read.

In accordance with the Constitutional Court's ruling, the PSU will be followed by the Mathius-Aryoko pair who are the champions of the Indonesia Maju Plus Coalition. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court ordered Benhur's supporters, namely the PDI-P, to find a new running mate.

Meanwhile, Judge Saldi Isra stated that the alleged violations submitted by the Mathius D Fakhiri-Aryoko Rumaropen camp were proven in the evidentiary hearing on February 17, 2025. Yermias was accused of falsifying files, including the certificate (suket) used when registering with the Papua KPU.

Declaring the disqualification of Papua Deputy Governor Candidate Yermias Bisai from participating in the 2024 Papua Governor and Deputy Governor Election.

The certificate includes a certificate of never having been convicted and not having had his voting rights revoked which is used as a requirement for Yermias' nomination issued by the Jayapura District Court (PN). As for when processing the files when processing Yermias' files to the Papua KPU, the KTP attached, namely the address in Waropen Regency.

Meanwhile, during the evidentiary hearing, Yermias revealed that he did not know the details of his registration files. He said that the processing of the files was carried out by his personal assistant and the Benhur-Yermias winning team.

In the evidentiary hearing, Yermias also showed an ID card with an address in Jayapura City. Meanwhile, when processing the files to the Papua KPU, the ID card attached was with an address in Waropen Regency.

Meanwhile, the certificate of never having been convicted and not having had his voting rights revoked which was used as a requirement for Yermias' candidacy was issued by the Jayapura District Court. In fact, the certificates must be issued by the district court according to his domicile.

The Constitutional Court considered that Yermias' actions violated the principles of the election, related to the honesty of personal data. Although the processing of the files was carried out by assistants and teams, Yermias was still considered responsible for violating population administration to meet the requirements for the Papua Deputy Governor Candidate.

Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court also ordered the Indonesian General Election Commission (KPU) and the Indonesian Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) to supervise the Papuan General Election Commission (KPU) and the Papuan Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu) in the implementation of the PSU.

Meanwhile, on January 24, 2025, the Election Organizer Honorary Council (DKPP) imposed a stern warning sanction on the Papua KPU. Five members of the Papua KPU, including the chairman, were found to have violated the code of ethics related to Yermias Bisai's candidacy certificate.

In its decision, the DKPP considered that the Papua KPU did not conduct an in-depth investigation into the disputed certificate.