The General Elections Commission is bracing for a possible backlash from the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party after the commission defended its earlier decision to disqualify the party, ignoring a ruling by the Elections Supervisory Board. The board, also known as Bawaslu, quashed an earlier decision made by the General Elections Commission (KPU) to disqualify the party, known as the PKPI, on the grounds that the party had failed to prove it had support in one of the 33 provinces. But the KPU decided not to carry out the Bawaslu decision, arguing that the Bawaslu does not have the authority to overrule the KPU’s qualification process.
PKPI chairman Sutiyoso said on Wednesday that his party will lodge a complaint against the KPU to the Election Organizers Ethics Council (DKPP) as well as a separate complaint to the Ombudsman Commission.
PKPI officials, including Sutiyoso, on Wednesday went to the Constitutional Court to file a judicial review motion on the Elections Law to get clarification on whether the KPU is indeed not obliged to carry out the Bawaslu decision.
KPU chairman Husni Kamil Manik said his office is ready to defend its actions in court as well as the proposed DKPP hearings.
“It is [the PKPI’s] right to file a complaint. For us, we are ready to defend the legality of our decision, our performance. We wouldn’t comment [on PKPI’s move]. We will just prepare all the necessary evidence and witnesses,” he said.
Full Article: Indonesia Election Commission Questioned for Ignoring Bawaslu | The Jakarta Globe.