President Jokowi Instructs Constitutional Court to Manage 2017 Regional Elections
Chief of Constitutional Court Arief Hidayat responds to reporters questions after meeting with President Joko Widodo on Monday (27/6), at the State Palace, Jakarta
President Joko Jokowi Widodo thanked the Constitutional Court for solving the 2015 simultaneous regional elections disputes correctly so there will be no problem that would potentially affect the governments stability.
The President said that the measures taken by the Constitutional Court in the simultaneous regional elections disputes can be taken again in the next simultaneous regional elections in 2017. Moreover, the 2017 regional elections will be participated by fewer regions than the 2015 regional elections, Chief of Constitutional Court Arief Hidayat said after meeting with President Joko Widodo on Monday (27/6), at the State Palace, Jakarta.
The President also appreciated the Constitutional Court in the implementation of 2015 regional elections and instructed to manage 2017 regional elections as good as the 2015 elections, Arief added.
Also on that occasion, Arief said there is currently no judicial review to be filed toward draft on Election of Governors, Regents, and Mayors which was passed by the House of Representatives (DPR) and has been brought to the Constitutional Court.
The bill has been passed by the DPR and will be signed by President Jokowi. In todays meeting with the President, we did not discuss it because issues in Constitutional Court that potentially could be a case is unethical to be discussed, Aried added.
Arief believes that since the President has not signed the bill yet, there is time for the public to file a judicial review and the Constitutional Court also has time to solve the disputes well.
Besides reporting the 2015 simultaneous regional elections disputes, in the meeting Arief also invited President Jokowi to attend the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts Congress to be held in Bali, in August.
We asked the President to open the Congress as its tradition to be opened by a head of state just like the last congress in Turkey. Thus, we requested the President to open the Congress and meet Heads of States and Presidents of Association of Asian Constitutional Courts, Arief added.
Arief is glad that the President is willing to open the Congress and the President has instructed Minister of State Secretary to schedule the event. (FID/ES) (RAS/EP/YM/Naster)
