The Election Organization Ethics Council (DKPP) issued a final, harsh warning against Chairman of the General Election Commission (KPU) Hasyim Asy’ari on Monday, February 5, 2024, for procedural violation in authorizing the eligibility of Gibran Rakabuming Raka to contest the 2024 elections as a vice presidential candidate.
“Hasyim Asy’ari as complainee number 1 is proven to have violated the code of ethics and the code of conduct for election organisers,” DKPP Chairman Heddy Lugito said while reading out the verdict in Jakarta on Monday.
The ethics council has found that Hasyim skipped the authorized procedure when he appoved the eligibility of Gibran to run as a presidential candidate without prior consultation with the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government despite having secured the constitutional “green light” through a ruling of the Consititutional Court issued on October 16, 2023, which technically allows Gibran to contest the election.
In its consideration, the DKPP regulates that the KPU should have immediately consulted the House of Representatives (DPR) and the government following the issuance of Constitutional Court Ruling No. 90/PUU-XXI/2023 on October 16, 2023. Such a consultation is necessary so that KPU Regulation No. 19/2023 as a technical regulation for the presidential election can be revised immediately in accordance with the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
In addition, the DKPP also issued harsh warnings against six KPU Commissioners, namely August Mellaz, Betty Epsilo Idroos, Mochamad Afifuddin, Yulianto Sudrajat, Parsadaan Harahap, and Idham Holik for similar violations to the code of ethics and the code of conduct for election organizers.
“The complainees only submitted a request for consultation to the House of Representatives on October 23, 2023, or seven days after the Constitutional Court’s ruling was issued,” DKPP member, I Dewa Kade Wiarsa Raka Sandi Wiarsa, said.
Wiarsa added that the DKPP could not accept the arguments provided by the complainees that they could have only sent the letter on October23, 2023 because the House was in recess within the seven-day period after the Constitutional Court ruling was pronounced.
“DKPP believes that the arguments of the complainees are refutable because Article 254 Paragraphs 4 and 7 of DPR Regulation No. 1/2020 on procedural rules stipulates that meetings can be held during the recess period,” Wiarsa explained.
The DKPP also blamed the KPU commissioners for immediately writing to political party leaders about the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the presidential-vice presidential age limit requirement, rather than prioritizing to consult with the DPR and the government on the matter.
“The complainees’ descision to write to the political party leaders, instead of the House and the government was inappropriate and against Article 10 of KPU Regulation N0. 1/2022 on Procedures for the Establishment of Regulations and Decisions within the KPU,” Wiarsa said.
The DKPP also faulted the KPU commissioners for their failure to incorporate the Constitutional Court ruling on the presidential-vice presidential age limit requirement into a KPU regulation as immediately as required. The KPU did change the presidential and vice presidential age limit clause by revising PKPU No. 19/2023. However, the revised regulation was only signed on November 3, 2023.
