Technical errors mark first teleconference trials

Technical errors mark first teleconference trials

P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Technical errors marred the first teleconference trials on
electoral disputes between the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and
the General Elections Commission (KPU) heard by the
Constitutional Court on Monday.

The first long-distance trials took place at the National
Police Headquarters to settle ballot counting disputes reported
by PKS in North Aceh, Banyuasin in South Sumatra, Seluma in
Bengkulu, Langkat in North Sumatra, and East Barito in Central
Kalimantan electoral districts that cost the party a seat in each
regental legislature.

The presiding judge adjourned the trials until Wednesday, when
the court will also hear another seven disputes involving PKS.
Constitutional Court chief Jimly Asshiddique said the court would
deliver the verdicts within this week.

According to Jimly, the court has to settle 257 cases filed by
23 political parties and 21 candidates for the Regional
Representative Council within 30 days.

The first slip-up happened on Monday when presiding judge
Jimly found that the witnesses who would testify came from South
Barito and not East Barito.

The leader of South Barito delegation blamed the court for the
mistake because the letter sent by the court was not addressed to
East Barito but referred to Barito only.

Another glitch occurred in the middle of the hearing between
the court and the witnesses in North Aceh, when suddenly the
microphone in Jakarta went off, forcing Jimly to suspend the
trial for about five minutes to fix the mike, which actually took
about 10 minutes.

"The malfunction did not have a big impact because it was only
a common technical error," said Jimly while leaving the
courtroom. Some people were overheard saying that the technical
error might make the teleconference trial ineffective.

The third technical snag happened when the judge heard
witnesses from Banyuasin. Witnesses and other parties in
Banyuasin invited to give additional information, were forced to
take turns to sit on a platform so that they could appear before
the stationary camera and be seen by the judges on the screen.

Law No. 23/2003 on the Constitutional Court allows the use of
electronic evidence and a teleconference trial to hear testimony
from witnesses anywhere in the country.

Speaking prior to the trial, Adnan Buyung Nasution, the
coordinator of the PKS' team of lawyers, questioned the
effectiveness and the objectivity of such long-distance trials.

"A teleconference trial would be acceptable only if it ensures
that fairness and objectivity are upheld, and it won't
disadvantage the defendant," said Buyung.

Adnan said the procedural codes in such a trial should be made
not only to ensure objectivity, but to also facilitate defendants
in making their plea during the trial.

During the trial on Monday, the plaintiff's lawyers asked the
court to revoke KPU Decree No. 44/SK/KPU/2004 dated May 5 on
national election results, because there were errors in the
ballot counting for PKS in five regional election sites, causing
the party to have no seats in the regental/municipal legislature
(DPRD II).

Also on the same day, Election Supervisory Committee
(Panwaslu) official, Masyhudi Ridwan, accompanied by lawyer
Bambang Widjojanto, submitted to the police headquarters a
complaint reported by Mirza Kemala, a legislative candidate of
the National Mandate Party (PAN) from Aceh.

Mashyudi said that the KPU had violated Article 140 of Law No.
12/2003 on general election for failing to revise the ballot
counting result from Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam which caused PAN to
lose a seat to the Crescent Star Party (PBB) at the Aceh
Provincial Legislative Council.