CHAIRMAN of the Constitutional Court (MK) Suhartoyo is considering summoning a number of ministers to the 2024 Presidential Election Results Dispute (PHPU) trial regarding alleged misuse of social assistance (bansos) during the 2024 Election stages. The constitutional judge will be careful in making this decision because he does not want to be seen as taking sides .
This was conveyed by Suhartoyo in response to the applicant’s request from the legal representatives of the presidential and vice presidential candidate pair Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud MD to present a number of ministers related to social assistance.
“You have to pay attention to this inter-partes (disputing parties), adversarial (parties facing each other) case. When the court has to call, there will be divisions of partiality, so you have to be careful,” said Suhartoyo at the 2024 PHPU Presidential Election hearing, in MK Building, Jakarta, Thursday (28/3).
Suhartoyo said that constitutional judges might summon these ministers if necessary for the purposes of the judge’s further investigation. This, said Suhartoyo, depends on the judges’ deliberation meeting (RPH).
“The court can summon as long as the court requires. It might be that what was proposed is actually needed, it really depends on the judges’ deliberation meeting,” he said.
When later presented, he continued, the respondent and related parties might not ask questions. Only constitutional judges have the right to dig up information from these ministers.
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“When a court is presented, it is necessary. So the parties cannot ask questions that require a court,” said Suhartoyo.
The applicant’s attorneys, Anies-Muhaimin and Ganjar-Mahfud, asked the Constitutional Court panel of judges to present a number of ministers such as the Minister of Finance, Minister of Social Affairs, Minister of Trade and Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs in the witness and expert examination session.
In the arguments of the petition, the two applicants highlight the politicization of social assistance in the election dispute lawsuit at the 2024 PHPU Presidential Election session. The presence of these ministers is expected to explain the distribution of social assistance which is considered to have an influence on the Prabowo-Gibran candidate pair’s electoral votes in the 2024 Presidential Election.
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Meanwhile, Prabowo-Gibran’s attorney, Otto Hasibuan, asked the constitutional judges to consider rejecting the request.
According to Otto, the 2024 PHPU presidential election trial is an election dispute and it is not relevant to summon a number of ministers.
“Considering that this case is not a request for norms, but this is a dispute with the principle of Actori In Cumbit Probatio,
Whoever contests his rights then the proof lies with the applicant. “We also need to consider the relevance of presenting the minister,” said Otto. (Mal)
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