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Lawmakers demand Elections Law amendment after court ruling
The Constitutional Court acknowledged potential violations that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and his aides had committed, saying that the President should have thought and acted in a neutral manner during the campaign season.
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The justices of the Constitutional Court read out decisions on April 22, 2024 on two challenges to the outcome of the February presidential election. The court rejected the losing candidates’ demands for a revote, thereby upholding the victory of president-elect Prabowo Subianto. (Reuters/Willy Kurniawan)
Following the recent Constitutional Court rulings that highlighted flaws in the regulations that guided the 2024 general election, lawmakers have demanded a revision of the 2017 Elections Law to regulate high-ranking officials’ activities during the election campaign season leading up to the vote.
Yanuar Prihatin, a member of House of Representatives Commission II overseeing home affairs, said there must be stricter regulations with heavy punishments for high-ranking officials that use state resources for government programs to camouflage campaigning for specific candidates or political parties.
“Until now, in the absence of clear, heavy sanctions, the president and ministers can influence people’s political choices by using state facilities and deliberately abusing their authority for their electoral goals,” he said on Tuesday in a press statement.
He also insisted that there must be stricter leave regulations for high-ranking officials who take part in election campaigns.
The Constitutional Court rejected on Monday petitions from unsuccessful presidential candidates Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo, who had sought to annul the victory of president-elect Prabowo Subianto.
The plaintiffs alleged that the victory was the result of abuses of power and state resources by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, his ministers and other state institutions. The abuse of power had enabled Jokowi’s son Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run as Prabowo’s running mate. While Jokowi had not explicitly endorsed his son’s campaign, he had indicated his preference for Prabowo and during the campaign season, he embarked on frequent field visits to distribute social assistance.
The witnesses and evidence presented during the election dispute hearing, however, failed to prove the allegations, resulting in the court justices rejecting both challenges by Anies and Ganjar.
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