Muhammadiyah Supports KPU To Appeal Central Jakarta District Court Decision On Postponing Elections

Illustration of the General Election Commission (KPU). (Between)

JAKARTA - The Muhammadiyah Central Executive Institute of Wisdom and Public Policy (LHKP) assessed that the decision of the Central Jakarta District Court which decided to postpone the 2024 general election (Pemilu) had violated the law and violated the constitution. "All efforts to postpone the 2024 Simultaneous Elections are against the constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD 1945). Therefore, the decision of the Central Jakarta District Court has been legally flawed," wrote the official letter of the Muhammadiyah LHKP in a statement, Monday, March 6, which was confiscated by Antara. The letter with number 002/I.18/A/2023 was signed by the Chairman of PP Muhammadiyah Busyro Muqoddas, LHKP Chair Ridho Al-Hamdi, and LHKP Secretary David Efendi. Previously, on Thursday (2/3), the Central Jakarta District Court decided on a lawsuit filed by the Prima Party, namely, "To punish the defendant (KPU) not to carry out the remaining 2024 general election stages since the decision was pronounced and carry out the general election stages from the beginning for approximately 2 (two) years 4 (four) months 7 (seven) days". LHKP Muhammadiyah is of the view that the Central Jakarta District Court's decision is against the constitution as stated in Article 22E paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution which states that elections are held directly, in general, free, secret, honest, and fair once every five years. "This means that the decision is tantamount to postponing the election which will be held on February 14, 2024," the letter reads. LHKP Muhammadiyah is of the view that the issue of administrative disputes and the stages of elections should be resolved at the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) and the State Administrative Court (PTUN), not other legal institutions. "The Central Jakarta District Court does not have the authority to make a decision to postpone the election," the letter wrote. The mechanism for delaying the election stages has been regulated in Law 7/2017 Article 431 which states that a number of prerequisites can stop the stages of the election. The requirements include natural disasters, security disturbances, and riots. This limited prerequisite only applies to the regional level, not only nationally. LKHP Muhammadiyah supports the appeal made by the KPU so that the 2024 General Election is in accordance with the set schedule. However, the KPU and Bawaslu must maintain integrity and transparency so that the election runs honestly and fairly (Jurdil). On the other hand, Muhammadiyah appealed to the elites and national figures to jointly succeed in holding the 2024 Simultaneous Election according to the set schedule. Then no longer make noise with statements of postponement of the election or extension of the term of office, for the sake of healthy consolidation of democracy in Indonesia. "We urge all people to become active and critical voters and not to be easily provoked by invalid (hoax) information. This response is conveyed so that it can be used as a reference by all parties," the letter concluded.