PKS takes legal action against W. Java High Court<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Bandung<\/p>\n
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) has taken formal legal action
\nagainst the West Java High Court's ruling in which it decided to
\noverturn an initial victory for the PKS candidate Nur Mahmudi
\nIsmail in the Depok mayoral election.<\/p>\n
Accompanied by his campaign manager and legal team from the
\nPKS, Nur Mahmudi reported the electoral dispute to the Judicial
\nCommission on Tuesday in a bid to have the ruling overturned.<\/p>\n
\"We are coming here to report the 'abnormal' behavior of the
\njudges when issuing the verdict. We will report this to the
\nJudicial Commission,\" Nur Mahmudi said on his arrival at the
\ncommission's office in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In addition, the PKS and the Depok district election
\ncommission and the West Java provincial election commission have
\nalso decided to file a request with the Supreme Court to review
\nthe ruling.<\/p>\n
\"We truly respect the legal process. That's why we've reported
\nthis case to the home affairs minister, the Supreme Court and the
\nJudicial Commission.<\/p>\n
\"We hope these improprieties can be fixed. Otherwise, it will
\nbecome a bad precedent for certain parties wanting to file a
\nlawsuit against regional election results,\" said Nur Mahmudi as
\nquoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
He added that he was not hungry for power, but was only
\nlooking for justice.<\/p>\n
The dispute would be the first case handled by the Judicial
\nCommission, whose seven members were inaugurated just last week
\nby President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The body has not even
\nselected its chairman yet, but has appointed Irawady Joenoes as
\nacting chairman.<\/p>\n
The West Java High Court last Friday annulled the victory of
\nNur Mahmudi in the June 26 election for Depok mayor, and instead
\ndeclared Golkar Party candidate Badrul Kamal as the winner. The
\nCourt ruled that 27,782 votes had been incorrectly given to
\nNur Mahmudi, and 62,770 votes taken away from Badrul.<\/p>\n
The court ruling drew protests from the PKS and many political
\nanalysts as it was based on evidence presented only by witnesses
\nbelieved to be Badrul's supporters, while none of Nur Mahmudi's
\nsupporters were summoned to testify at the hearing.<\/p>\n
Indra Perwira, an administrative law expert from Padjadjaran
\nUniversity in Bandung, said the West Java poll commission had
\nappointed him and four lawyers to represent it in the legal
\nbattle at the Supreme Court, while the PKS had named senior
\nlawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution to act on behalf of the party.<\/p>\n
Indra said that reviewing the verdict was possible based on
\nLaw No. 4\/2004 on the judicial affairs authority, particularly on
\nArticle 23 which stipulates that people can ask the Supreme Court
\nto review a court ruling even though it is already final and
\nbinding.<\/p>\n
\"The ruling is final, which means it cannot be fought through
\nconventional methods like normal appeals, but through an
\nextraordinary way, which is a request for a Supreme Court's
\nreview,\" Indra explained during a radio talk show in Bandung.<\/p>\n
The PKS, he said, would also provide new evidence to the West
\nJava High Court because it had not heard testimony from witnesses
\nthat support PKS when handing down the controversial ruling.<\/p>\n
Indra said it was now the Supreme Court's responsibility to
\nmake a breakthrough in settling the dispute wisely.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, West Java Governor Danny Setiawan denied
\nallegations that he interfered in the West Java court's ruling
\nwhich favored Badrul, his fellow Golkar member and the father of
\nDanny's son in law.<\/p>\n
\"Who said that? I've never interfered. That's a legal matter,\"
\nDanny said angrily.<\/p>\n
The governor said the case should become a lesson for upcoming
\nlocal elections in Bandung, Indramayu and Karawang, so that such
\nbitter disputes could be prevented.<\/p>",
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