Tok, The Constitutional Court Decision Rejects Local Papuan Parties To Participate In The General Election

Court decision trial (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Constitutional Court (MK) rejected a petition for judicial review of Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for Papua, which argued that local Papuan political parties can participate in the election.

The Chairperson of the United Papua Party Krisman Dedi Awi Janui Fonataba has proposed a review of Article 28 Paragraph (1) and Paragraph (2) of the Special Autonomy Law because the party cannot participate in the general election for legislative members in 2019.

Constitutional Justice Arief Hidayat said that Article 28 of the Special Autonomy Law regulates the specificity of political parties in Papua with regard to recruitment that prioritizes indigenous Papuans and is obliged to ask the Papuan People's Council for consideration.

This is different from Aceh, which is given the specialization of forming local political parties, which in terms of the selection and recruitment mechanism for political parties is carried out independently by political parties.

"The regulation of political parties in Papua as stipulated in Article 28 of Law 21/2001 is not intended as a local political party because the regulation of political parties in Law 21/2001 is not explicitly stated and at the same time interpreted as a local political party," said Arief Hidayat in a hearing of the pronouncement of the verdict. at the Constitutional Court Building, Jakarta, reported by Antara, Monday, October 26.

In addition, the specificity of political recruitment by national political parties that prioritizes indigenous Papuans and obliges them to ask the Papuan People's Assembly for consideration is considered to be in accordance with the spirit of Papua's special autonomy.

With this obligation, the Constitutional Court views indigenous Papuans as having an important role and acting as the main subject.

In fact, through a national political party, Arief Hidayat said that the involvement of indigenous Papuans at the national political level is more secure because regeneration is not limited to the local level and political careers may reach the national level so that aspirations or interests related to Papua are more easily channeled.

"Thus, although they are not given specificity to form local political parties, the provision to prioritize indigenous Papuans and the obligation to ask the Papuan People's Council for consideration in political recruitment by national political parties provides more assurance for the development of human resources in the political field for indigenous Papuans. in particular and the Papuan population in general, "said Arief Hidayat.