Constitutional Court Decision Regarding The Age Of Presidential And Vice Presidential Candidates Is Considered To Damage Democracy, Fertilize Nepotism

Constitutional Court Building (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Executive Director of the Indonesia Political Opinion (IPO) Dedi Kurnia Syah, highlighted the trial of alleged violations of the code of ethics by the Honorary Council of the Constitutional Court (MKMK) against Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Anwar Usman.

Dedi assessed that the life of democracy was indeed on the brink after the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) regarding the minimum age limit for presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

"Democracy is certainly disrupted, the birth of dynastic politics, the fertility of nepotism," said Dedi Kurnia in his statement in Jakarta, Friday, November 3.

According to Dedi, the Constitutional Court's decision on the age limit lawsuit for vice presidential candidates is at least 40 years old unless they have served as positions in elections, including regional heads, paved the way for the proliferation of nepotism. Even worse, said Dedi, the Constitutional Court is considered to have damaged the state order.

"The impact of the decision that opens the potential for nepotism is only a small part, the big part is that the Constitutional Court has damaged the judicial order. This damage is not a matter of politics, but the state order is also porous," he explained.

Dedi is of the view that Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Anwar Usman deserves to be removed from his position and prosecuted. This is based on several arguments that show crucial violations in the Constitutional Court's decision.

First, said Dedi, judges who have direct relationships with the material of the lawsuit should not participate in formulating the verdict. Second, the Constitutional Court does not have the authority to change, add or reduce the draft law. The Constitutional Court, he added, could only cancel the law and return the legal decision to the DPR RI.

"So that the Constitutional Court deserves to be called destroying the constitution, even judges who participate in changing the law deserve to be called a crime," concluded Dedi. It is known that the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Jimly Asshiddiqie said the evidence needed by the Constitutional Court in uncovering cases of alleged ethical violations and behavior of judges was complete.

"I told you that at the trial. We were actually complete, the evidence was complete," said Jimly.

However, said Jimly, the Honorary Council still has to hold a hearing, even though the evidence is complete.

He explained that it was possible that there were new findings related to alleged ethical violations regarding the decision 90/PUU-XXI/2023 regarding the minimum age limit requirement for presidential and vice-presidential candidates.