The lawsuit that was filed by the Central Jakarta District Court against the KPU for postponing the elections did not in any way affect the entire process and stages of the democratic party. This is because the KPU continues to comply with the laws and constitution that are valid and have been mutually agreed upon.
Entering a political year like today, where the holding of a democratic party in Indonesia is only a matter of months away, so it can be said that the Indonesian people will soon face General Elections ( Elections ) which are held every 5 (five) years.
So, with a little more time left, of course, the political uproar is expected to become much tighter . The reason is , it cannot be denied that the election process is very important because if Indonesia does not hold elections, then a country cannot be said to be a country that adheres to democracy .
How could it not be, because if a country wants to be said to adhere to a democratic system, then precisely in the process of changing leadership or power, the community must be directly involved to determine who will lead them next.
The democratic system itself is a system that reflects the existence of a political mechanism that is considered capable of guaranteeing the existence of a government that is very responsive to the wishes of its own citizens.
With elections, it will be able to provide facilities for elite circulation , be it between one elite and another , as well as a change from a lower elite class and being able to have the possibility of becoming an elite class that rises higher .
So it is clear that it is very important that there be general elections in Indonesia on behalf of a country with a democratic government system, the existence of these elections guarantees that democratization in the country will really take place.
However, recently, namely on Thursday 2 March 2023, the Central Jakarta District Court (PN) instead granted a lawsuit from the Adil Makmur People’s Party (Partai Prima) filed by them at the General Election Commission (KPU) since December 8 2022 ago.
The lawsuit from the Prima Party was filed because they claimed they felt disadvantaged because they failed to pass the election administration. Knowing that there was a lawsuit, then the KPU itself will take legal action against the Central Jakarta District Court Decision .
With the Central Jakarta District Court’s decision in favor of the Prima Party and suing the KPU, the election organizers were then sentenced to repeat the stages of the election from the beginning and postpone the holding of the elections.
Responding to this decision, Political Observer from Paramadina University , Hendri Satrio stated that in fact there was no impact whatsoever on the Central Jakarta District Court’s decision because the decision had not yet been signed . So, according to him the stages of the election are still ongoing.
In fact, he added that the KPU is obliged to continue all stages of the election while waiting for the signing . Not only that, but he hopes that presidential candidates and political parties should not be affected by the Central Jakarta District Court ‘s decision .
According to the man who is also the founder of the survey institute KedaiKOPI , the decision issued by the Central Jakarta District Court is only a pebble in a very long journey of democracy in Indonesia, so there is no need to take it too seriously.
In a similar vein, General Election Commission (KPU) Chairman Hasyim Asy’ari emphasized that the decision of the Central Jakarta District Court (PN) which ordered the postponement of the general election (Pemilu) had no effect on the 2024 election stages. He ensured that the 2024 election stages would continue according to the schedule set out has been determined.
Hasyim explained that the 2024 elections were still being held because the legal basis for the implementation of the election stages, namely General Election Commission Regulation (PKPU) Number 3 of 2022 concerning Election Stages and Schedules, was still valid, and was not the object of a lawsuit in the Central Jakarta District Court decision.
Because the KPU continues to strive to comply with the constitution and laws which are clearly written in Indonesia, the decision from the Central Jakarta District Court itself has absolutely no effect on the stages of the 2024 election . The irrelevance of the decision is also evident from how the KPU continues to continue the entire process of the election stages.
The KPU as the organizer continues to carry out all stages of the 2024 Election. Not only because they are subject to the law and the constitution which already regulate it, but the election is also an indicator that the system of government in Indonesia really uses democracy. So that the recent polemic regarding the lawsuit by the Central Jakarta District Court has absolutely no impact on all stages of the general election process.
)* The author is a contributor to Persada Institute