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Court Clears Way for KPU to Announce Indonesian House Election Results
Camelia Pasandaran | September 02, 2009

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The Constitutional Court on Tuesday ruled on all outstanding disputes in the legislative elections, paving the way for a announcement of the repeatedly postponed final results of the April 9 polls.

Constitutional Court chief Mahfud MD said the General Elections Commission (KPU) now had run out of reasons to delay. “With our ruling, the KPU may issue its final decision soon,” he said.

Ismail Fahmi of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro) said Tuesday’s rulings related to the need for fresh elections or a recount of votes that had been ordered by the court in a handful of districts spread across seven provinces. He added that the rulings would have little bearing on the outcome of elections.

Ismail said one of the rulings would effect the South Nias district, with one seat in a regional legislative council (DPRD) being transferred between political parties, and one other seat transferred between candidates of the same party.

Mahfud said the decisions were final and binding and that the KPU should implement the rulings.

“No more election dispute cases will be accepted,” he said, adding that those with further complaints could file them with police and try pushing them through courts as general crimes.

KPU member Andi Nurpati said the body would meet today to decide on the legislative seat allocation.

“The seat allocation will be based on the ruling of the Constitutional Court in some districts,” Andi said. “We expect all political parties and related institutions such as the Elections Supervisory Board [Bawaslu] to respect the final decisions.”

Andi said the announcement could hopefully be made immediately after the meeting. “But we have to remember that there’s an administrative process that may take time. If we can finish it on the same day, we’ll probably declare it on [Thursday] afternoon.”

The KPU has long been laboring over how to apply a complex formula used to determine seats in the regional councils and at the House of Representatives after two apparently contradictory rulings from the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court.

Under the Constitutional Court ruling, favored by the KPU, seat allocations would follow a formula seen as more fitting for a proportional representation system, with minor parties standing to gain increased representation.

The Supreme Court ruling, however, would reallocate 1,300 seats in the DPRDs and 66 seats in the House to the larger political parties, particularly the Democratic Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party.

As many as 115 legislative candidates from the three parties who stand to win seats in the House under the Supreme Court ruling have threatened to file legal action if the KPU decided to ignore the court’s decision, but Irman Putra Sidin, a state administrative law expert, suggested that the politicians were fighting a losing battle.

Under the country’s election laws, all poll disputes are to be tried in the Constitutional Court, whose rulings are considered to be final and binding.




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