Constitutional Court Rules AFU-Petrus Eligible for Southwest Papua Gubernatorial Election

JAKARTA – The Constitutional Court (MK) has ruled that the candidacy requirements for the 2024 Southwest Papua gubernatorial election comply with applicable regulations. The issue of the recommendation for Indigenous Papuans (OAP) has been addressed through a decision by the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP). Meanwhile, to reinstate their status as candidates, gubernatorial candidate pair Abdul Faris Umlati and Petrus Kasihiw (Petitioners) pursued legal efforts up to the Supreme Court level.

This ruling was outlined in the court's legal considerations read by Constitutional Justice Daniel Yusmic P. Foekh during the pronouncement of Decision No. 276/PHPU.GUB-XXIII/2025 regarding the dispute over the results of the 2024 Southwest Papua gubernatorial election. The session took place at the Constitutional Court on Wednesday (5/2/2025).

“As a result, the Decision of the Southwest Papua Provincial General Election Commission (KPU) No. 78 of 2024 regarding the determination of candidate pairs for the gubernatorial election remains valid. The Petitioners and the Related Party (Candidate Pair No. 03, Elisa Kambu and Ahmad Nausrau) have met the eligibility requirements according to statutory regulations. Therefore, the Petitioners' claims of conspiracy between the election organizers and the MRP to obstruct their candidacy are legally unfounded,” stated Justice Daniel.

Allegations of Vote Buying

Regarding allegations of money politics and voter mobilization, the court found that these matters had been reported and addressed by the Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) at both the Raja Ampat Regency and Southwest Papua Provincial levels. Furthermore, concerning the presence of the Related Party at polling stations on election day, it was established that both candidates exercised their voting rights at different polling stations in their respective residences.

“Based on the report from the Southwest Papua Bawaslu, the visit by Mr. Elisa Kambu at 16:00 WIT took place after the voting process had concluded. Therefore, it cannot be categorized as an attempt to influence voters to support him. As such, the Petitioners’ claims are legally unfounded,” Justice Daniel emphasized.

The Petitioners secured 79,635 votes, whereas the Related Party (the winning candidate pair) obtained 144,598 votes, resulting in a vote difference of 64,963 votes (21.01%), far exceeding the threshold of 6,179 votes. Given this result, the court ruled that although the Petitioners participated in the gubernatorial election, they failed to meet the legal criteria for filing an election dispute, as stipulated in Article 158, Paragraph (1), Letter (a) of Law No. 10/2016.

“In its ruling, the court grants the objections of the Respondent and the Related Party regarding the legal standing of the Petitioners; rejects other objections from the Respondent and the Related Party. In the main case, the court declares the Petitioners' claims inadmissible,” said Chief Justice Suhartoyo as he read out the ruling of Decision No. 276/PHPU.GUB-XXIII/2025 from the Plenary Session Room of the Constitutional Court, accompanied by Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra and seven other constitutional justices.

During the preliminary hearing on Thursday (16/1/2025), the Petitioners sought the annulment of Southwest Papua KPU Decision No. 115 of 2024, which determined the results of the gubernatorial election. They argued that the vote margin resulted from alleged violations committed by Candidate Pair No. 03, warranting a re-election. The Petitioners further claimed that their candidacy was marred by deliberate attempts to block and disqualify them.

The Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) declared that the Petitioners were not categorized as Indigenous Papuans, making them ineligible to contest the gubernatorial race. This decision, according to the Petitioners, constituted political discrimination and violated Article 20, Paragraph (1) of Law No. 21/2001 on Papua's Special Autonomy. (MKRI)