Establishment of Electoral Court in Indonesia: Problems and Future Challenges

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the urgency of the establishment of a special court in resolving disputes over the results of the regional elections in Indonesia, because there will be simultaneous regional elections in 2024, and on the other hand the Constitutional Court (MK) is no longer authorized to resolve disputes over the results of the elections. This study uses a normative legal research method, with a statutory approach and the data used are secondary data. Based on the discussion, it was found that the special court which has the authority to resolve disputes over the results of the regional elections is very urgent to be established or determined, this is in accordance with the mandate of Law Number 10 of 2016 and as a follow-up to the decision of the Constitutional Court No. 97/PUU-XI/2013. Other reasons are: (a) The mandate of the law is limitative, (b) The nature of the Constitutional Court's duties as a constitutional enforcement agency (Court of law) and not a concrete case (Court of Justice), (c) The nature of the decision without proper appeal contrary to the basic principles of the electoral law system, (d) A settlement approach with a quantitative paradigm that is difficult to realize a sense of justice, (e) A separate judicial system makes the legal system for regional elections uncertain and difficult to achieve justice, certainty, and benefit. In addition, there is an urgent need because the simultaneous national elections are planned to be held in November 2024. This special court can be newly formed, its position can be under the Supreme Court (MA) or stand-alone autonomously outside the Supreme Court or empower existing institutions, especially institutions whose duties are related to elections by giving the authority to settle disputes over the results of the elections.