By: Rudi Herlambang
The Constitutional Court (MK) is continuing evidentiary hearings on General Election Results Disputes (PHPU), especially in the 2024 Legislative Election (Pileg) in up to 106 cases.
All cases in the PHPU evidentiary trial include the election of the DPR RI, DPD RI, Provincial DPRD to Regency or City DPRD. According to the Constitutional Court Spokesperson, Fajar Laksono, the 106 cases will continue to be held for one week.
The Constitutional Court will hold a follow-up hearing of 106 PHPU legislative elections cases with the agenda of hearing information from witnesses or experts on 17 May 2024 – 3 June 2024. In handling hundreds of cases at the evidentiary stage, the Constitutional Court uses a three-panel format. With the three-panel format, the nine MK judges will be divided into three to handle evidentiary hearings in different rooms.
In a total of 106 cases, in one case it is possible for each party to present up to 6 witnesses or experts. Not only is it possible to present many parties, but this reflects how the Constitutional Court continues to be present to listen to all statements from parties in dispute, including carrying out examinations and validating additional evidence.
Constitutional Court Judge Arief Hidayat reminded all parties to submit their additional evidence in the 2024 Legislative Election Session at least one day before the trial takes place and on working days. If it turns out that there is a party who made the submission but it is not appropriate, then this matter can still be a matter for separate consideration by the Panel of Judges.
Meanwhile, Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih appealed to all relevant parties involved in the 2024 Legislative Election dispute at the Constitutional Court so that they can submit all their evidence as soon as possible.
Because by submitting evidence as soon as possible, this will immediately receive a response from many parties at the evidentiary hearing. So it would be good if the litigants were able to take this golden opportunity to present their evidence before the evidentiary trial ends.
Constitutional Justice, Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh explained that if we talk about the Constitutional Court, it is the same as talking about the history of the development of state institutions and judicial power in Indonesia.
For your information, Indonesia previously made the Constitutional Court the holder of judicial power. However, there were changes to the 1945 Constitution (UUD) of the Republic of Indonesia, which also contained the constitutional system in the country.
With these changes, now the judiciary states that the Constitutional Court exists as a state institution which also exercises judicial power independently to be able to administer justice for the sake of upholding law and justice in this country.
Through a functional approach, namely a check and balances system, the 9 constitutional judges actually do not only discuss the number of cases and simply carry out their authority. However, since there were amendments to the 1945 Constitution, the constitutional structure in Indonesia is no longer vertical.
However, now the judicial power, namely the MK, is able to have the function of exercising control over executive and legislative powers. How does this role make the Constitutional Court continue to strive to uphold the principles of justice and democracy in Indonesia?
Because there is a system of checks and balances, now the Constitutional Court can also carry out its duties compared to the number of hundreds of law makers divided into several factions.
So far, the Constitutional Court continues to experience progress in carrying out its duties and authority in protecting the constitution and maintaining democracy in Indonesia. As a nation that has the principle of being a rule of law, the Motherland is guided by the foundations of the state, namely Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.
As written in the fourth paragraph of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution which states that the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) has the sovereignty of the people based on the belief in the Almighty God, just and civilized humanity, Indonesian unity and democracy which is led by the wisdom of deliberation/representation.
Article 1 paragraph (2) of the 1945 Constitution states that sovereignty is in the hands of the people and is implemented according to the Constitution. So this historically indicates that the practice of democracy in Indonesia has gone through several processes, starting from recognizing the existence of parliamentary (liberal) democracy, guided democracy until now the country runs a government using the Pancasila democratic system.
Because it is a party capable of implementing a system of checks and balances and even being able to correct the functioning of executive institutions, namely the government and the legislature, the Constitutional Court continued the hearing of evidence for the 2024 PHPU Legislative Election in up to 106 cases.
*) Indo Persada Social and Cultural Observer