Court issues decree on election disputes

JAKARTA: The Supreme Court has issued a decree for resolving disputes about the results of direct regional elections, Chief Justice Bagir Manan said during the weekend.

Bagir said all election disputes would be handled by the Supreme Court but that it could delegate lower courts to handle cases in certain situations.

According to the Supreme Court Decree No. 1/2005 on procedures to challenge election results, there would be no formal hearings in disputes, with judges only examining election documents submitted by the conflicting parties.

Plaintiffs would be required to register their complaints directly to district courts across the country as the Supreme Court did not recognize files sent by email or faxes.

Some regions are scheduled to hold direct elections for governors, regents and mayors in June, in what would be the first direct election of regional leaders in the country. -- JP