Gov’t Upholds Legal Certainty Principle in Addressing Regional Election-Related Conflicts

Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna H. Laoly speaks to reporters after a limited cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office on Monday (30/5)

In the possibility of internal conflicts related to the nomination of candidates for regional elections by political parties during the registration process, Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna H. Laoly asserted that the Government upholds the principle of legal certainty.

Yasonna said that political approaches were used to resolve at last year’s simultaneous regional elections and during the registration, but for the upcoming simultaneous regional elections, the same approach will not be used anymore.

At last year’s simultaneous regional elections, there were even several conflicting fractions within certain political parties nominated their candidates.

“Now, all political parties that are going to nominate their candidates at regional elections must be political parties that are registered at the Ministry, which in this case according to the prevailing laws and regulations, is the Ministry of Law and Human Rights,” Yasonna told reporters after a limited cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office on Monday (30/5).

Should disputes arise, the Minister added, they must be resolved according to the Law on Political Parties, which is through the Party Court.

He added that the Party Court is the ‘final abandoning’ and the political parties are indeed registered again at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

If there are disputes being settled at the court, the reference is the decision made by the political party that is last registered, Yasonna said.

“Although there is a dispute between two fractions within a political party, the one that is registered the last is the one acknowledged by the Ministry. Once a decision with the permanent legal force is made, the validation will be asked for to the Ministry,” Yasonna added.

The Minister added that this measure is also in line with the request from the General Election Commission (KPU) and the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) so that they will not be involved in internal conflicts of political parties during the registration of regional head candidates at regional elections.(FID/RHD/JAY/ES) (Naster/YM/EP)