Throughout March 2023, the Central Jakarta District Court and the General Election Supervisory Agency made separate rulings in favour of the Just and Prosperous People's Party (Indonesian : Partai Rakyat Adil Makmur, PRIMA) following the party's lawsuits against the General Elections Commission (KPU). The lawsuits were brought forth after PRIMA failed to qualify to participate in the 2024 Indonesian general election. One of the demands in PRIMA's court petitions was the postponement of the election, which was granted by the District Court. [1]
The District Court's decision drew near-universal condemnation from Indonesia's political establishment, including President Joko Widodo, parliamentary leaders, and national politicians,. [2] The KPU appealed the case to the higher court on 10 March after affirming that they will continue the election preparation process regardless of the court decision. [3] [4]
The Jakarta High Court, on 11 April 2023, decided to accept KPU's appeal and overruled South Jakarta District Court's decision to instruct the election delay. [5]
The Just and Prosperous People's Party was formed through a merger of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and numerous mass organizations. PRIMA's formation was announced on 27 May 2020, gained approval from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights on 29 September 2020, and officially founded on 1 June 2021. [6] [7] [8] [9]
Most of the party members and officials during its declaration were PRD cadres and its affiliates. [10] The only exception is R Gautama Wiranegara, a retired major general of Indonesian Army and was a general secretary of National Counter Terrorism Agency. [11]
After failing to qualify to participate in the 2024 elections and exhausted all avenues within the electoral system to appeal their failure, PRIMA decided to file a lawsuit against the electoral commission, which they submitted to the Central Jakarta District Court 8 December 2022.
On their court petition, the party asked the District Court to declare them as the party aggrieved by the KPU, instruct the KPU to award the party Rp500 million as compensation for their failure to participate in the election, and postponement of the election. [1] The party argued that the KPU was reckless in assessing submitted party documents as prerequisite for the election, which cost them the opportunity to participate in elections and appear in the ballot papers. [1]
At the verdict reading on 2 March 2023, the Central Jakarta District Court unexpectedly ruled in favour to the party and fulfilled in entirety the party's petition. The judges ordered the KPU to suspend the remaining stages of the election and restart the election process from the early verification phase, which consequently postponed the election for at least two years, four months and seven days. [12]
On 20 March 2023, the General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) also ruled in favour of PRIMA, although it did not order a postponement of the election and instead ordered KPU to grant PRIMA an additional ten 24-hour periods in order to amend its administrative documents. [13] Rahmat Bagja, chairman of Bawaslu, stated that the body intended to not interfere with the election's preparations. [14]
The verdict drew near-universal condemnation from Indonesia's political establishment, including most parties from both the government coalition and opposition camps. Only some individuals and parties, including PRIMA as the plaintiff, expressed their support to the decision.
According to an Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Indonesia deputy, President Joko Widodo is committed to abide by the constitution by ensuring the 2024 election proceeds according to the timetable, implicitly not welcoming the court decision. [2] Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD said that the district court must "not create sensational decision". [15]
The main ruling party, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), condemned the decision, which they believed "unusual", and asked the judges issuing the decision to be investigated. [16] [17] [18] [19]
The National Awakening Party, Indonesian Solidarity Party, Nasdem Party, Democratic Party, and Prosperous Justice Party from both the governing coalition and opposition camps also voiced concern, primarily by denouncing the court decision as highly unusual. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] Besides issuing a condemnation, the Labour Party, who qualified for their very first election, also threatened to stage large-scale protest to oppose the decision. [26]
Meanwhile, PRIMA commended the court decision, and party chairperson Agus Jabo Priyono said that the verdict proved that the KPU has committed major error in their verification process which cost the party opportunity to participate in 2024 elections despite fulfilling the criteria to do so. [27] They also appealed all parties to respect the court decision. Few days later, PRIMA stated that they would withdraw their lawsuit if the party was qualified to participate on 2024 elections. [28]
Moreover, Arief Poyuono, a politician from the Great Indonesia Movement Party from the governing coalition, welcomed the decision, as he believed Indonesia "still needs Jokowi". [29] United Development Party politician Muhammad Romahurmuziy also stated that election postponement is "something legitimate in democracy". [30] Berkarya Party also supported the decision. [31]
Judicial Commission of Indonesia (KY) summoned the judges for investigation to their unusual decision on 3 March 2023. [32] The judges, Tengku Oyong, H. Bakri, and Dominggus Silaban are in due to be presented themselves to the commission. [33] [34] Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Indonesia stated that despite the irregularity of the decision, the judges cannot be wronged and asked the KPU to submit an appeal to the higher court instead. [35]
KY recommend the suspension of the judges on 17 July 2023 and also requested the judges to be relieved from their judge duty for 2 years. [36] Despite the recommendation, the Supreme Court, by its Overseer Body, which hold the law enforcement power over the judges, decided to punish the judges by transferred them to remote lower courts on 22 August 2023. [37]
Former minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, former Constitutional Court Chief Judge Hamdan Zoelva, lecturer and election activist Titi Anggraeni, and university lecturer Feri Ansari all argued the decision both unlawful and unconstitutional, as the court have ruled beyond its jurisdiction, and suspected that the judges were incompetent. [15] Political expert from Gadjah Mada University, Wawan Mas'udi said that the decision is highly irregular because the district court has no jurisdiction over election disputes. [38]
Major Muslim organisation Muhammadiyah stated that the postponement violated the constitution, [39] while preachers from Ahl as-Sunnah Students Volunteers of Nahdlatul Ulama (Anies) also voiced rejection. [40]
In response to the Bawaslu decision, KPU conducted a repeat verification of PRIMA on 1 April 2023 and declared that the party passed administrative verifications. [41] However, on 19 April, the KPU deemed PRIMA not qualified to participate in 2024 elections after the party failed in its factual verification phase, where the KPU found the party's membership numbers below the required threshold. [42] PRIMA proceeded to file a third lawsuit with Bawaslu, which was rejected. [43]
Seeking to emulate PRIMA's success, Berkarya Party also launched a similar lawsuit demanding the postponement of the elections to the court. [44]
The Jakarta High Court, on 11 April 2023, decided to accept KPU's appeal and overruled South Jakarta District Court's decision to instruct the election delay. [5] The high court also accepted the electoral commission's argument that the district court has no competency and jurisdiction over the case filed by PRIMA. [45]
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle is a secular-nationalist political party in Indonesia. Since 2014, it has been the ruling and largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR) with 128 seats. The party is currently led by Megawati Sukarnoputri, who served as the President of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. It is also the party of the current president, Joko Widodo.
The Party of Functional Groups, often known by its abbreviation Golkar, is a political party in Indonesia. It was founded as the Joint Secretariat of Functional Groups in 1964, and participated for the first time in national elections in 1971 as Functional Groups. Golkar was not officially a political party until 1999, when it was required to become a party in order to contest elections.
The Democratic Party is a centrist, nationalist-religious political party in Indonesia. It was founded on 9 September 2001 as the political vehicle of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY). The party gained its initial parliamentary representation following the 2004 legislative election. It then became one of the major parties in Yudhoyono's governing coalition. The party assumed power by winning the majority of votes in the 2009 legislative election. Since 2014, the party has served as the opposition to the Joko Widodo administration.
The National Mandate Party, frequently abbreviated to PAN, is an Islam-based political party in Indonesia.
The Justice and Unity Party formerly known as Indonesian Justice and Unity Party is a political party in Indonesia.
The People's Conscience Party, better known by its abbreviation, Hanura, is a political party in Indonesia. It was established following a meeting in Jakarta on 13–14 December 2006 and first headed by former Indonesian National Armed Forces commander Wiranto. The party lost its seats in the People's Representative Council after a poor performance in the 2019 general election.
General elections were held in Indonesia on 17 April 2019. For the first time in the country's history, the president, the vice president, members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), and members of local legislative bodies were elected on the same day with over 190 million eligible voters. Sixteen parties participated in the elections nationally, including four new parties.
The Indonesian Solidarity Party is a political party in Indonesia that focuses on women's rights, pluralism, and Indonesian youth. It is led by Kaesang Pangarep who is the youngest son of President Joko Widodo. He joined the party on 23rd September 2023 and became the general chairmen on 25th September 2023.
The Berkarya Party is an Indonesian political party formed in 2016. The party was formed to channel the political aspirations of former president Suharto's youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra, better known as Tommy Suharto. Tommy, a convicted murderer by proxy, lost the general chairmanship of the party in July 2020 after the government recognized the leadership of a breakaway faction headed by former general Muchdi Purwopranjono. Berkarya came 11th out of 16 political parties that contested Indonesia's 2019 general election, receiving 2.09% of votes cast. The party supported Tommy's former brother-in-law Prabowo Subianto's unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2019. After failing to win a 4% threshold necessary to gain seats in the national parliament, the party in 2020 split into rival factions: one led by Tommy and the government-recognized faction led by Muchdi.
Mohamad Taufik was an Indonesian politician who was a member of the Jakarta Regional People's Representative Council from 25 August 2009 until his death in 2023. He was a member of the Gerindra Party for most of his legislature career, but resigned from the party in October 2022. Having been convicted of corruption in 2004, he received significant attention in 2019 when he successfully filed a lawsuit against the General Elections Commission to run for his second term in the legislative body.
General elections were held in Indonesia on 14 February 2024 to elect the President, Vice President, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) which consists of the House of Representatives (DPR), the Senate (DPD), and members of local legislative bodies at the provincial and city/regency level. The newly elected members of the MPR will be sworn in on 1 October 2024, while the elected President and Vice President will be sworn in on 20 October 2024. Incumbent President Joko Widodo is ineligible to run for a third term due to limitations established by the Indonesian constitution. The election has over 200 million eligible voters, voting in over 800,000 polling stations across the country on the same date.
Ahmad Riza Patria is an Indonesian politician who served as the 15th Vice Governor of Jakarta from 2020 to 2022. He previously served as a Vice Chairman of Second Commission in the People's Representative Council of Indonesia. He was elected in the seat of West Java V constituency winning with a total vote of 23,991 in the 2014 legislative elections.
Ahmad Ridha Sabana is an Indonesian entrepreneur and politician. He is active in the KNPI and was nominated as the chairman of the KNPI for the 2011–2014 term.
Protesting and riots took place on 21 and 22 May 2019 in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, mainly around the Tanah Abang district of Central Jakarta and in West Jakarta. The unrest followed former general Prabowo Subianto's refusal to accept defeat in the 2019 Indonesian presidential election to incumbent President Joko Widodo, also known as Jokowi.
Hitler Nababan is an Indonesian politician from the Democratic Party who served as a member of the Karawang Regional Representative Council from 2014 until 2019.
The Just and Prosperous People's Party is a political party in Indonesia. The party formed after a merger of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and numerous mass organizations. PRIMA's formation was announced on 27 May 2020, gained approval from the Ministry of Law and Human Rights on 29 September 2020, and officially founded on 1 June 2021.
The Labour Party is a political party in Indonesia founded on 5 October 2021. The party was reformed from and is a continuation of the defunct 1998 Labour Party founded by Muchtar Pakpahan. The party formed after the 4th Labour Party congress on 4–5 October in Jakarta.
2023 (MMXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2023rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 23rd year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 4th year of the 2020s decade.
The SIRA Party, abbreviation of Independent Solidity of the Acehnese Party, is a regional political party in Indonesia active in Aceh province. The party was founded in December 2007 by then-Deputy Governor Muhammad Nazar.