Although Not Breaking The Law, The President Should Think, Take Action, And Take Neutral Action In Elections

The atmosphere of the 2024 Election Dispute session at the Constitutional Court, Jakarta 22 April 2024 (Diah Ayu/VOI)

JAKARTA - The panel of judges at the Constitutional Court (MK) said that the endorsement or attachment of self-image to candidates or certain pairs of candidates in the election was not an act that violated the law.

However, other things with the President. If the President shows his image of one of the election participants, it will cause problems from an ethical perspective.

This was revealed by the judge of the Constitutional Court Ridwan Mansyur in reading the 2024 presidential election dispute decision.

"The president concerned should think, behave and act neutrally, in the contestation event choosing a presidential and vice presidential pair who will replace himself as head of state as well as head of government," said Ridwan in the Court courtroom, Monday, April 22.

According to Ridwan, it is absolutely necessary for the incumbent president to refrain or limit himself from appearing in public.

This is because this can be associated or perceived by the community as support for one of the candidates or candidate pairs in the election.

"The availability / willingness of such a president, as well as the willingness of incumbents at their respective levels who face the similarity of the situation to the conditions of the 2024 presidential and vice presidential elections are the main factors for maintaining the quality of Indonesia's democracy," he explained.

In the argument of his lawsuit, the petitioner stated that Jokowi had politicized social assistance, political problems, and wanted the deployment of state officials to win Prabowo-Gibran.

However, in the decision read out today, the Constitutional Court stated that the petitioner's argument was groundless according to law. The majority of the causes of these arguments that were not accepted were lack of strong evidence.