Hasyim Asy'ari Fired, KPU Affirms Stay Focused On Regional Head Elections And Undergo Dispute Decisions For The Constitutional Court Legislative Election

Acting (Plt) Chairman of the General Election Commission (KPU) Mochammad Afifuddin/PHOTO: Diah Ayu-VOI

JAKARTA - Acting (Plt) Chairman of the General Elections Commission (KPU) Mochammad Afifuddin emphasized that his party remains focused on carrying out its duties after the decision of the Election Organizers Honorary Council (DKPP) which dismissed Hasyim Asy'ari from the position of Chairman and Member of the KPU.

Afif emphasized that the KPU immediately carried out internal consolidation with all ranks to undergo the 2024 Simultaneous Pilkada stage in the midst of vacancies in the position of the definitive KPU Chair.

"We will accelerate steps to then prepare the pilkada stages as we know these days the stages are rotating in the candidacy, then there is a campaign period, and so on," Afif said at the KPU office, Central Jakarta, Thursday, July 4.

The KPU, continued Afif, is also still focused on following up on the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) regarding the dispute over the Legislative Election (Pileg) which ordered re-voting (PSU) and recapitulation of re-voting in a number of regions.

"We will reaffirm our internal consolidation, facing a follow-up to the decision of the Constitutional Court which is still partially unfinished," Afif said.

On the one hand, Afif emphasized that his party would not comment on the contents of the DKPP decision regarding the immoral case committed by Hasyim Asy'ari. "We will not comment on the DKPP decision because it is not an institution," he added.

It is known that the DKPP imposed a permanent dismissal sanction on Hasyim Asy'ari as the chairman and concurrent member of the Indonesian KPU, related to the alleged immoral case against members of the The Hague Foreign Election Committee (PPLN), the Netherlands, with the initials CAT.

The verdict was read out in the trial of the decision on the alleged violation of the code of ethics at the DKPP office, Jakarta.

DKPP granted the complainant's complaint entirely, and asked the President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo to replace Hasyim within 7 days of the time the verdict was read.

Reports of alleged violations of the election organizers' code of ethics (KEPP) against Hasyim were initially filed by the Legal Aid Consultation Institute and the Choice of Completion of Disputes at the Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia (LKBH-PPS FH UI) and the Legal Aid Institute of the Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH APIK), as the victim's attorney, on Thursday 18 April 2024.

The victim's attorney assessed that the actions of KPU Chairman Hasyim Asy'ari as a defendant were included in the violation of the code of ethics based on DKPP Regulation Number 2 of 2017 concerning the Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct for General Election Organizers.

Meanwhile, the Main Expert of the Presidential Staff Office Ali Mochtar Ngabalin said President Jokowi immediately issued a Presidential Decree to follow up on the DKPP RI decision regarding the dismissal of KPU Chairman Hasyim Asy'ari.

"Regarding the permanent dismissal sanction for KPU Chairman Hasyim Asy'ari by DKPP, God willing, it will be followed up as soon as possible with the issuance of a Presidential Decree after this decision is made by the DKPP," said Ngabalin.

Ngabalin said the government respects the decision of the DKPP as an authorized institution provided by law in handling violations of the code of ethics from election organizers.