Jakarta,
Jan 23 (Antara) - The Constitutional Court (MK) finally decided on
Thursday to rule in favor of a judicial review request filed by the
Civil Society Coalition for Election which asked for a simultaneous
legislative and presidential election.
Led by political analyst
Effendi Gazali, the coalition lodged a judicial review of Law No.
42/2008 on Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections which among
others regulated that the legislative elections and presidential
elections are held at least three months apart.
The MK ruled that simultaneous elections will be held
beginning in 2019.
The government, based on Law No. 4/2008, has planned to organize a
legislative election on April 9 and a presidential and vice presidential
election on July 9, 2014.
"Simultaneous elections will be held in 2019," MK Chairman Hamdan
Zoelva said when reading the court's verdict on Thursday, thus ruling in
favor of the petitioners.
Gazali and friends filed the review request on Law No.4/2008
arguing it was against the Constitution which suggested that general
elections be held once in five years. Besides, the holding of elections
in two apart schedules was not efficient and harmed the constitutional
interest of the people.
The coalition hoped that the elections would be held simultaneously in a
package policy by combining a presidential coattail and political
efficacy systems where voters could vote for a legislative and
presidential candidate nominated by one political party, or for a
legislative and presidential candidate nominated by different political
parties.
In its ruling on Thursday, the MK did not change the legislative and
presidential election schedules this year, namely on April 9 and July 9,
2014. But in the next five years, both elections will be held
simultaneously in 2019.
Earlier, General Elections Commission (KPU) Chairman Husni Kamil Manik
said his commission did not prepare anticipatory steps in the face of
the judicial review of Law Number 42 of 2008 by the MK, saying that KPU
was not doing jobs whose legal basis was not yet issued.
"KPU is not doing or thinking of a job whose regulations or laws are
not yet issued," Husni Kamil Manik said in Pontianak, West Kalimantan on
Thursday.
He
said that the KPU carried out its task based on Law No. 8/2012 on
Legislative Elections and Law on No. 42/2008 on Presidential and Vice
Presidential Elections. The KPU chairman said that based on the two
laws, the legislative and executive elections are carried out at two
different times. "Based on the concept, there will be three months of
time between the two polling events," he said.
In
the meantime, Minister of Law and Human Rights Affairs, Amir Syamsuddin
said on Wednesday that the government will follow whatever decision the
Constitutional Court (MK) will take, on the judicial review of Law No.
42/2008 on Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections.
"We in the government always have a position because we will always
follow the constitutional concept. Therefore, we will abide by whatever
the MK decides over the election law," he commented at the House of
Representatives (DPR) building on Wednesday.
The minister pointed that he was aware of the controversies over the
judicial review of Law No.42/2008. But he stressed on the fact that the
government will not take a position to raise its opinion over the issue.
"We do not want to exert influence on the judicial review process.
Although it is logical to make a comment, yet too many comments will
cause a problem," he noted.
In his position as a legal practitioner, Amir sees benefit in the
holding of a simultaneous elections. So, it is just ideal to hold a
simultaneous election in 2019.
In the meantime, constitutional expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra who had also filed a similar review request on the same law, said the judicial review request was filed with the MK over the Law No. 42/2008 to
prove that the general elections, so far, were held in an
unconstitutional manner.
"I
have requested the MK to postpone the legislative elections until July
2014 (to be held simultaneously with the presidential election). The
inauguration of the elected legislators will be held as per schedule on
October 1, and the President-elect will be on October 20, 2014. So,
there will be no chaos, except if there are parties intending to disrupt
the proceedings," Yusril noted.
In the dossier of his judicial review request, Yusril urged the MK to
review the Article 3 point 4, Article 9, Article 14 point 2, and Article
112 of Law No. 42/2008 on Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections,
which he believes were against the 1945 Constitution.
According
to Yusril, Article 4 point 1 and Article 7C of the 1945 Constitution
stipulate that the Indonesian government, based on the Constitution,
adopts a presidential system.
If the presidential system is related to Article 22E point 1, 2, and 3,
it is evident that a general election is held once every five years.
The election is held to vote for the members of the House of
Representatives, Regional Representatives Council, the President, and
the Vice President. They should be held concurrently based on the
Constitution, he remarked.
Secretary General of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Mahfudz Siddiq
said meanwhile that the democratic system in Indonesia can be made
healthy if the Constitutional Court accepted the judicial review
request of the law on presidential and vice presidential elections.
"If the judicial review is accepted by the MK, it will make the
democratic system in the country healthier, as it will help to resolve
the political coalition problems."
He pointed out that if the
judicial review was approved, it will reinforce the government's
presidential system. It will enable the political parties to nominate
the names for their respective presidential and vice presidential
candidates much earlier.
According
to Mahfudz, if the political parties coalesced, it is more or less only
a form of support to the presidential and vice presidential candidates
in the second round of the presidential elections.
If the judicial review request is approved by the MK, then it will not
have far-reaching implications," the PKS secretary general remarked.
Former Constitutional Court chairman Mahfud MD also said on
Wednesday the MK could just accept the judicial review if there was a
new condition stating that separate elections (legislative election and
presidential election) were against the Constitution.
But
Mahfud claimed that he did not know whether there was a new condition
now which regards separate elections as against the Constitution. He
explained that whatever the MK decided on the judicial review, will
constitute a binding legal product.***1***
(T.A014/S012)
(T.A014/A/BESSR/Suharto) 23-01-2014 23:38: |
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