2024 Election Results Challenged in Constitutional Court: Demand for Gibran's Disqualification
The Constitutional Court (MK) has been requested to disqualify Gibran Rakabuming Raka as the Vice President candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election. The dispute over the General Election Results (PHPU) was filed on Thursday (10/9), alleging that Gibrlar did not meet the required educational qualifications during the nomination process.
This lawsuit was submitted by several parties, including constitutional law expert Denny Indrayana, who is registered as Petitioner III. In addition to Denny, the petitioner coalition includes the Independent Committee for Election Monitoring (KIPP), the Ummat Party, the Forum of TNI Veterans, and several individual petitioners.
The petitioners are urging the Constitutional Court to proceed with examining the merits of the case despite Gibran having already been inaugurated as Vice President. They argue that the issue is not merely about removal from office, but concerns the legality of the nomination requirements from the outset.
“The issue pertains to the validity of the nomination requirements. The presidential election dispute must still be given space for examination to seek true justice,” said Denny Indrayana at the Constitutional Court Building in Jakarta on Thursday (10/9).
In their argument, the petitioners distinguished between the mechanism for removing a President or Vice President during their term (impeachment) and the cancellation of a nomination due to non-compliance with requirements from the start. According to them, the issue of nomination requirements falls entirely within the realm of election disputes.
“Without meeting the nomination requirements, a person should not be able to become a presidential or vice-presidential candidate, let alone an elected candidate, or even be inaugurated as President or Vice President,” Denny emphasised.
Denny explained that there are indications Gibran did not meet the minimum educational requirement of senior high school (SLTA) or equivalent, as regulated by the Election Law. The petitioners also questioned the legal solution if an official has already been inaugurated but is subsequently found to have lacked fundamental requirements since the initial registration.
Furthermore, the petitioners assess that this issue is not merely an administrative flaw, but alleges there was a manipulative process that was Structured, Systematic, and Planned (TST). One point of focus is the amendment to KPU Regulation Number 19 of 2023, specifically Article 18 paragraph (3), which is deemed to exclude evidence of senior high school graduation for candidates who graduated from abroad.
Additionally, they questioned the certificate of educational equivalence issued by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology through the Directorate General of Primary and Secondary Education. The certificate was indicated to have been issued in less than 24 hours on 6 August 2019, while the underlying graduation documents have yet to be proven valid.
“We believe that Gibran’s status as an inaugurated official should not be a reason to close the examination. There is the legal principle fraus omnia corrumpit, which means that fraud corrupts the entire process built upon it,” Denny added.
In the petition represented by Refly Harun, the petitioners requested the Constitutional Court to declare that the educational requirements in Article 169 letter r of Law Number 7 of 2017 concerning Elections are mandatory requirements that must be legally fulfilled at the time of registration.