TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Presidential Palace emphasized that the government of President Joko Widodo or Jokowi is not a party involved in the ongoing presidential election dispute at the Constitutional Court (MK). The President's Special Staff for Legal Affairs, Dini Purwono, suggested that the public follow the legal process.

Dini said the government had not prepared any defense or team in case the MK asked for information. The government does not see its relevance as it is not a party to the dispute.

“There is no reason to be involved in the MK trial,” Dini told Tempo via a text message on Thursday, March 28.

The Constitutional Court held a preliminary hearing for the election dispute cases on Wednesday, March 27, which was divided into two sessions. The first case was lodged by presidential candidate pair number 1 Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar (Amin) which was held at 08:00 WIB (Western Indonesian Time).

The second case was filed by candidate pair number 3 Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud Md which was held at 13:00 WIB.

During the hearing, the Amin’s National Legal Team (THN) accused President Jokowi of encouraging or allowing cabinet ministers to help candidate number 2 Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka win the election. Meanwhile, the Ganjar-Mahfud camp accused Jokowi of committing nepotism in the presidential election.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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