5 Districts In West Papua Apply For Dispute On The 2024 Regional Head Election

Chairman of the West Papua Province KPU Paskalis Semunya when met by media crews in Manokwari. BETWEEN/Fransiskus Salu Weking.

MANOKWARI - The General Election Commission (KPU) of West Papua Province said that there were five districts that had submitted applications for the 2024 Pilkada dispute to the Constitutional Court (MK).

West Papua KPU chairman Paskalis Semunya said five districts namely Manokwari, South Manokwari, Wondama Bay, Bintuni Bay, and Fakfak.

The KPU of each district has prepared all administrations to maintain the determination of the results of the recapitulation of the election votes listed in the decree.

"The results have been completed. The KPU's position is to maintain the voices of the people who have been copied in the decree," said Paskalis in Manokwari, Antara, Wednesday, December 11.

Requests for dispute over the results of regional head elections, be it the election for governor-deputy governors, the election for regent-deputy regents, and the election for mayor-deputy mayors, can be carried out three working days after the KPU officially announces the determination of votes.

The requirements for submitting election disputes are regulated in Article 157 paragraph (5) of Law Number 10 of 2016, and the KPU as an election organizer are required to carry out decisions from the Constitutional Court which are omnes or binding.

"Pleno's determination on Sunday (8/11) means Wednesday (today) is the last day of submitting a request for a regional election dispute to the Constitutional Court," said Paskalis.

In stages, he said, the West Papua KPU not only accounted for the results of the 2024 Pilkada in seven districts to the Minister of Home Affairs through the KPU of the Republic of Indonesia but also to the local provincial government.

The West Papua KPU also immediately conducted an evaluation to find out the cause of the decline in the level of voter participation in the implementation of the 2024 Pilkada which only reached 78.14 percent or 298,858 people from the total voter list remained as many as 376,548 people.

"Democracy is getting better because people are already critical, but on the other hand there is a decrease in the use of the right to vote. This is what we will find out what caused it," explained Paskalis.

According to him, education and socialization as a form of political education for people in West Papua need to be increased in order to have a positive impact on voter participation in every regional election in the future.

The decline in the level of voter participation in the 2024 Pilkada has been discussed with the provincial government through the West Papua National and Political Unity Agency (Kesbangpol), and the West Papua Election Supervisory Body (Bawaslu).